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ILLINOIS  STATE  LIBRARY 
SPRINGFIELD 

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Illinois.  State  Geological  Survey. 
Year  book 

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STATE  OF  ILLINOIS 

STATE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 

FRANK  W.  DE  WOLF,  Director 


BULLETIN  No.  20 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 

ADMINISTRATIVE  REPORT 

AND 

Various  Economic  and  Geological  Papers 

Work  in  cooperation  with  U.S.  Geological  Survey 


PRINTED  BY  AUTHORITY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  ILLINOIS 


ILLINOIS  STATE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
URBANA 

1915 


PARAGRAPH  PTG  8.  STA.Ca 


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STATE  GEOLOGICAL  COMMISSION 

Edward  F.  Dunne,  Chairman 
Governor  of  Illinois 

Thomas  C.  Chamberlin,  Vice-Chairman 

Edmund  J.  James,  Secretary 
President  of  the  University  of  Illinois 


Frank  W.  DeWolf,  Director 
Fred  II.  Kay,  Asst.  State  Geologist 


(3) 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2018  with  funding  from 
University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign 


https://archive.org/details/yearbookfor1910a00illi 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL 

State  Geological  Survey 
University  of  Illinois,  December  1,  3915. 

Governor'  E.  F.  Dunne,  Chairman,  and  Members  of  the  Geological 

Commission, 

Gentlemen: — I  submit  herewith  my  administrative  report  for  1910, 
accompanied  by  miscellaneous  papers  of  economic  and  scientific  interest, 
and  recommend  that  they  be  published  as  Bulletin  No.  20. 

The  work  covered  in  the  report  was  actually  accomplished  during 
the  administration  of  Governor  C.  S.  Deneen,  and  advance  publications 
were  made  several  years  ago  to  cover  the  more  important  features  of 
the  work.  Thus,  reports  on  the  Carlyle  oil  field  and  the  Carlinville  oil 
field  were  given  to  the  public  in  time  to  be  of  considerable  assistance  in 
developing  the  oil  and  gas  resources.  Similarly,  statistics  on  mineral 
production  for  1909  and  1910  were  duly  published  in  the  press  of  the 
State.  A  report  on  the  geological  and  mineral  resources  of  the  Spring- 
field  quadrangle,  in  abbreviated  form,  was  published  by  the  U.  S. 
Geological  Survey. 

On  account  of  the  congestion  in  the  printing  office  the  publication 
of  the  full  bulletin  has  been  deferred  until  the  present  time. 

Very  respectfully, 

Frank  W.  DeWolf,  Director. 


(5) 


CONTENTS 


Page 

ADMINISTRATIVE  REPORT  .  7 

MINERAL  PRODUCTION  OP  ILLINOIS  IN  1909  AND  1910, 

BY  G.  IT.  CADY  .  19 

CARLYLE  OIL  FIELD  AND  THE  SURROUNDING  TERRITORY, 

BY  E.  W.  SHAW . . .  43 

CARLINVILLE  OIL  AND  GAS  FIELD,  BY  F.  H.  KAY .  81 

GEOLOGY  AND  MINERAL  RESOURCES  OF  THE  SPRINGFIELD  QUAD¬ 
RANGLE,  BY  T.  E.  SAVAGE .  97 

VALUATION  OF  COAL  FOR  GAS  MANUFACTURE,  BY  S.  W.  PARR .  131 

EXTINCT  LAKES  IN  SOUTHERN  AND  WESTERN  ILLINOIS  AND  AD¬ 
JACENT  STATES,  BY  E.  W.  SHAW .  139 


ADMINISTRATIVE  REPORT  FROM  JANUARY  1,  1910 

TO  JUNE  30,  1911 

By  F.  W.  DeWolf,  Director 


OUTLINE 

Introduction  . 

General  . 

Organization  and  personnel . 

Cooperation  . . . 


Page 

9 

9 

9 

.  11 


Geological  section  .  12 

General  stratigraphy  .  12 

Coal  .  13 

Oil  and  gas  .  13 

Lead  and  zinc .  14 

Ground  water  .  14 

Clay  .  14 

Educational  bulletins  .  14 

Mineral  statistics  .  14 

Bureau  of  information  .  14 


Topographic  and  drainage  sections .  15 

Publications  .  17 

Eeports  .  17 

Topographic  maps  .  17 

Expenditures  .  18 


PLATE 

Map  showing  progress  of  topographic  surveys, 


18 


(7) 


ADMINISTRATIVE  REPORT  FROM  JANUARY  1,  1910 

TO  JUNE  30,  1911 

INTRODUCTION 


GENERAL 

The  mineral  production  of  Illinois  for  the  calendar  year  1910  to¬ 
taled  $141,809,121.  As  usual,  coal,  petroleum,  and  clay-products  were 
leaders,  and  these  materials  particularly  received  the  attention  of  the 
Survey.  In  addition  a  large  amount  of  work  was  done  on  strictly  scien¬ 
tific  problems. 

ORGANIZATION  AND  PERSONNEL 

The  organization  of  the  Survey  included  a  general  office,  and  three 
technical  sections  as  before,  Geologic,  Topographic,  and  Drainage,  be¬ 
sides  the  Mine  Rescue  Service  which  was  maintained  under  cooperation 
at  Urbana.  The  geologic  section  was  administered  by  F.  W.  DeWolf, 
acting  director,  who  was  appointed  director  in  1911.  The  topographic 
section  was  in  general  charge  of  R.  B.  Marshall,  chief  geographer,  and 
in  immediate  charge  of  W.  H.  Herron,  geographer  of  the  central  di¬ 
vision  for  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey.  The  drainage  section  was  con¬ 
ducted  by  Mr.  Herron  and  the  director.  The  Mine  Rescue  Station  has 
been  in  charge  of  R.  Y.  Williams,  assisted  by  J.  M.  Webb,  under  the  gen¬ 
eral  supervision  of  G.  S.  Rice  and  J.  W.  Paul,  all  of  the  U.  S.  Bureau 
of  Mines. 

G.  E.  Carothers  acted  in  the  capacity  of  chief  clerk,  assisted  by  Miss 
Gertrude  O’Brien,  as  stenographer  and  clerk. 

Professors  Salisbury,  Grant,  and  Barrows  continued  to  serve  as  con¬ 
sulting  geologists,  and  Professors  Parr  and  Bartow  as  consulting  chem¬ 
ists.  A.  V.  Bleininger,  consulting  ceramist,  with  R.  T.  Stull,  ceramist, 
continued  in  general  charge  of  the  clay  studies. 

Professors  Weller,  Savage,  and  J.  A.  Udden,  have  given  part-time 
service  to  the  Survey  as  geologists.  G.  H.  Cox,  assistant  geologist,  con¬ 
tinued  the  study  of  lead  and  zinc  in  northwestern  Illinois  and  submitted 
his  report  early  in  1910.  E.  W.  Shaw  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey 
mapped  the  Galena  and  Tallula  quadrangles  and  the  surficial  deposits 
of  the  Galatia  quadrangle  in  cooperation  with  the  State  Geological  Sur¬ 
vey.  R.  S.  Blatchley,  assistant  geologist,  with  W.  E.  Deuchler,  field 
assistant  and  draftsman,  made  studies  in  the  southeastern  oil  field  and 
enlarged  our  general  oil  report.  G.  II.  Cady  was  employed  temporarily 
as  assistant  geologist.  He  prepared  the  West  Frankfort  quadrangle  re¬ 
port  and  nearlv  completed  the  field  work  on  the  La  Salle  quadrangle 


(9) 


10 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


under  Professor  Grant.  A.  C.  Trowbridge,  assistant  geologist,  surveyed 
the  Elizabeth  quadrangle  in  cooperation  with  the  U.  S.  Geological  Sur¬ 
vey.  Carl  0.  Sauer,  field  assistant,  prepared  an  educational  bulletin  on 
the  Upper  Illinois  Valley  under  the  direction  of  Prof.  R.  D.  Salisbury. 

Coal  analysis  and  various  chemical  studies  were  carried  on  by  J.  M. 
Lindgren  and  D.  F.  McFarland,  chemists,  under  the  general  direction 
of  Professor  Parr,  of  the  University  of  Illinois.  T.  R.  Ernest,  field  as¬ 
sistant,  in  collaboration  with  Professor  Parr,  carried  on  experiments  in 
sand-lime  brick  and  prepared  their  results  for  early  publication. 

A  number  of  other  men  served  for  short  periods  of  time  in  the  field 
and  office.  The  organization  of  the  Survey  Avas  as  follows: 

COMMISSIONERS 

Governor  C.  S.  Deneen,  Chairman 
Professor  T.  C.  Chamberlin,  Vice-Chairman 
President  E.  J.  James,  Secretary 

ADMINISTRATIVE  WORK 

F.  W.  DeWolf,  Director 

G.  E.  Carothers,  Chief  Clerk 

GEOLOGICAL  SECTION 

F.  W.  DeWolf,  Geologist 

R.  D.  Salisbury,  Consulting  Geologist 
U.  S.  Grant,  Consulting  Geologist 
Harlan  H.  Barrows,  Consulting  Geologist 

S.  W.  Parr,  Consulting  Chemist 
Edward  Bartow,  Consulting  Chemist 
A.  V.  Bleininger,  Consulting  Ceramist 
Stuart  Weller,  Geologist 

T.  E.  Savage,  Geologist 
J.  A.  Udden,  Geologist 

G.  H.  Cox,  Assistant  Geologist 
E.  W.  Shaw,  Assistant  Geologist 

R.  S.  Blatchley,  Assistant  Geologist 
G.  H.  Cady,  Assistant  Geologist 
A.  C.  Trowbridge,  Assistant  Geologist 
R.  T.  Stull,  Ceramist 
J.  M.  Lindgren,  Chemist 
D.  F.  McFarland,  Chemist 
A.  J.  Ellis,  Assistant  Geologist 


ADMINISTRATIVE  REPORT 


11 


W.  E.  Deuehler.  Field  Assistant  and  Draftsman 
T.  R.  Ernest,  Field  Assistant 
Carl  0.  Saner,  Field  Assistant 
David  C.  Thompson,  Field  Assistant 
Gertrude  O’Brien,  Clerk 

TOPOGRAPHIC  AND  DRAINAGE  SECTIONS 

(Employes  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey  under  cooperative  agreement) 
R.  B.  Marshall,  Chief  Geographer 

W.  II.  Herron,  Geographer  of  Central  Division,  including  Illinois 

Topographic  Mapping : 

Frank  Tweedy,  Topographer 
F.  W.  Hughes,  Asst.  Topographer 


B.  A.  Jenkins,  do 

L.  L.  Lee,  do 

0.  H.  Nelson,  do 

E.  L.  Hain,  do 

C.  C.  Gardner,  do 

H.  W.  Peabody,  do 

W.  S.  S.  Johnson,  do 


J.  B.  Leavitt,  Junior  Topographer 
W.  S.  Gehres,  Topographic  Aid 

Primary  Traverse: 

J.  R.  Ellis,  Topographer 

C.  B.  Kendall,  Asst.  Topographer 

Levels : 

Carl  R.  French,  Junior  Topographer 
J.  H.  Wilson,  do 

R.  G.  Clinite,  Topographic  Aid 

S.  R.  Archer,  do 


COOPERATION 

As  in  previous  years  the  State  Geological  Survey  has  worked  in 
close  cooperation  with  a  number  of  other  organizations.  With  the  U.  S. 
Geological  Survey  there  has  been  formal  cooperation  in  the  topographic 
work,  in  geological  surveys  of  quadrangle  areas,  and  in  the  collection 
of  mineral  statistics.  Drainage  surveys  were  continued  in  cooperation 
with  the  Internal  Improvement  Commission  and  the  U.  S.  Geological 
Survey.  Chemical  studies  on  coal  were  carried  on  in  cooperation  with 


12 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


the  Department  of  Applied  Chemistry  of  the  University  of  Illinois.  The 
arrangement  covering  exchange  of  information  with  the  State  "Water 
Survey  has  continued.  Augustana  College  has  furnished  official  facil¬ 
ities  for  J.  A.  Udden  in  his  work  of  collecting  and  studying  drill  records, 
and  the  University  of  Chicago  for  the  men  writing  educational  bulletins. 

Acknowledgment  should  be  made  to  the  numerous  firms  and  in¬ 
dividuals  who  have  supplied  the  Survey  with  drill  records  and  other 
notes,  often  of  a  confidential  nature.  The  response  to  our  requests  for 
such  information  has  been  everywhere  instant  and  hearty  and  the  rec¬ 
ords  now  being  collected  and  correlated  will  be  of  the  highest  value  in 
the  difficult  task  of  working  out  the  stratigraphy  of  the  deeply  buried 
portions  of  our  great  coal  and  oil  fields. 

GEOLOGICAL  SECTION 

The  administration  of  the  geological  section  of  the  Survey  has  been 
in  charge  of  the  Director.  The  principal  work  has  been  the  continua¬ 
tion  of  stratigraphic  and  structural  studies  of  the  State  based  on  drill 
records  and  the  examination  of  outcropping  rocks.  The  reports  cover 
coal,  oil,  lead,  and  zinc,  clay,  water,  and  general  educational  topics. 

GENERAL  STRATIGRAPHY 

As  usual,  an  earnest  effort  was  made  to  keep  in  touch  with  all  of 
the  drilling  in  the  State  and  to  collect  the  records  for  study.  Mr.  Blatch- 
ley  spent  three  weeks  in  the  field  with  an  assistant,  securing  data  for  the 
enlargement  of  his  general  oil  report  published  in  Bulletin  16 ;  and  he 
and  Dr.  Udden  arranged  for  complete  samples  of  35  deep  wells.  The 
results  of  Dr.  Udden ’s  examinations  will  appear  as  Bulletin  24,  which 
promises  to  be  an  extremely  valuable  addition  to  our  knowledge  of  the 
stratigraphy  of  the  State. 

Mr.  Savage  devoted  two  months  to  field  work  on  the  Devonian  and 
pre-Devonian  formations  in  the  northern  part  of  the  State  and  in  Cal¬ 
houn,  Jersey,  and  Alexander  counties.  He  was  assisted  four  weeks  by 
Mr.  Ellis.  The  results  of  this  study  will  be  published  during  the  coming 
year.  Mr.  Weller  spent  two  weeks  in  the  field  in  Monroe  County  and 
devoted  the  remainder  of  his  time  to  preparation  of  his  monograph  on 
the  Mississippian  brachiopods. 

The  coal-bearing  rocks  were  examined  in  detail  by  Messrs.  Savage, 
Shaw,  Cady,  DeWolf,  Lines,  and  Udden,  the  first  three  devoting  their 
time  to  detailed  mapping  of  quadrangles  in  the  southern  coal  fields. 

No  new  work  on  clay  or  shale  was  undertaken  but  laboratory  and 
burning  tests  on  earlier  samples  were  made  by  the  Department  of  Cera¬ 
mics,  University  of  Illinois. 


ADMINISTRATIVE  REPORT 


13 


COAL 

Much  attention  was  given  to  the  study  of  coal  resources.  The  state 
produced  45,900,246  tons  in  the  calender  year  1910.  During  the  fiscal 
year  ended  June  30,  1911,  the  output  was  50, 165,099"  short  tons  as  com¬ 
pared  to  48,717,853  tons  in  1910.  The  coal  work  has  been  in  charge  of 
the  Director  and  has  embraced  not  only  the  collection  and  study  of  a 
large  number  of  drill  records  but  also  field  examination  in  various  parts 
of  the  State. 

Reports  on  the  Murphysboro  and  Herrin  quadrangles  by  Messrs. 
Savage  and  Shaw  were  published  in  Bulletin  16  and  manuscripts  for 
folios  on  these  areas  will  be  submitted  to  the  federal  Survey  for  early 
publication.  Mr.  Cady’s  report  on  the  West  Frankfort  quadrangle  also 
appeared  in  Bulletin  16.  Messrs.  DeWolf,  Lines,  and  Udden  continued 
studies  looking  toward  the  preparation  of  a  general  coal  report  for  the 
State. 

Studies  of  coal  resources  of  La  Salle,  Hennepin,  Springfield  and 
Tallula  quadrangles  were  under  way,  and  analyses  were  made  of  15  sam¬ 
ples  from  various  mines.  Other  chemical  investigations  have  been  con¬ 
tinued  in  cooperation  with  the  Department  of  Applied  Chemistry,  Uni¬ 
versity  of  Illinois,  and  Professor  Parr  has  submitted  a  paper  on  the 
“Valuation  of  coal  for  gas  manufacture”  which  appears  in  this  volume. 

The  Mine  Rescue  Station,  maintained  in  cooperation  with  the  De¬ 
partment  of  Mining  Engineering  and  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Mines,  has 
been  actively  engaged  in  training  men  for  the  new  state  stations.  The 
men  have  responded  to  several  calls  for  help  in  extinguishing  mine  fires. 
The  work  is  in  immediate  charge  of  R.  Y.  Williams,  assisted  by  J.  M. 
Webb,  both  of  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Mines. 

OIL  AND  GAS 

The  production  of  oil  in  Illinois  in  1910  was  33,143,362  barrels  as 
compared  with  30,898,339  barrels  in  1909.  The  increase  in  1910  was 
largely  due  to  deep  drilling  in  Lawrence  County,  where  the  “Tracy” 
and  “McClosky”  sands  were  discovered.  The  Sandoval  pool  was  opened 
up  in  1909-1910  and  the  Carlyle  field,  which  was  predicted  in  the  Survey 
reports,  proved  to  be  productive  in  the  spring  of  1911.  A  new  gas  area 
was  tapped  early  in  1910  near  Greenville,  Bond  County,  where  the  wells 
yielded  from  1,250,000  to  2,000,000  cubic  feet  of  gas  daily. 

It  was  regarded  advisable  for  Mr.  Blatchley  to  report  on  the  scat¬ 
tered  developments  throughout  the  state.  Three  weeks’  field  work  with 
an  assistant,  in  addition  to  previous  collection  of  information  enabled 


1Coal  Report  of  Illinois:  Illinois  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics,  1910. 


14 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


him  to  complete  the  report  appearing  in  Bulletin  16,  issued  January 
1911.  Besides  information  regarding  developed  fields,  the  report  con¬ 
tains  recommendations  for  future  drilling  in  areas  favorable  for  the  ac¬ 
cumulation  of  oil  and  gas.  It  is  the  intention  to  keep  in  close  touch  with 
operations  and  to  make  readily  accessible  any  information  that  will  be 
of  value  to  the  public. 

LEAD  AND  ZINC 

The  Galena  special  topographic  map  including  20  square  miles  in 
the  heart  of  the  lead  district  was  used  as  a  basis  for  detailed  geologic 
work  by  Mr.  G.  H.  Cox.  He  is  now  completing  a  report  on  the  lead  and 
zinc  deposits  of  northwestern  Illinois,  which  will  be  published  as  Bulle¬ 
tin  21. 

GROUND  WATER 

Dr.  J.  A.  Udden  continued  his  studies  of  stratigraphy  based  on  deep 
well  borings  and  made  arrangements  for  complete  samples  from  35  such 
wells  throughout  the  state.  He  studied  these  samples  in  great  detail  and 
obtained  results  which  promise  to  be  extremely  valuable  in  the  correlat¬ 
ing  of  water-bearing  beds. 


clay 

Detailed  tests  on  the  clay  samples  collected  last  season  by  Mr.  Lines 
are  being  made  by  the  Ceramics  Department  at  the  University  of  Illi¬ 
nois,  and  the  results  will  probably  be  issued  in  a  separate  bulletin. 

EDUCATIONAL  BULLETINS 

The  preparation  of  educational  bulletins  under  the  direction  of 
Prof.  R.  D.  Salisbury  of  the  University  of  Chicago,  included  field  and 
office  work  on  the  Kaskaskia  Valley,  the  Galena  and  Elizabeth  quadran¬ 
gles,  and  the  Upper  Illinois  Valley. 

MINERAL  STATISTICS 

The  collection  of  mineral  statistics,  suspended  in  1909  because  the 
Census  Bureau  was  engaged  in  a  thorough  investigation,  was  again  un¬ 
dertaken  in  1910  by  the  Survey  in  cooperation  with  the  U.  S.  Geological 
Survey.  The  complete  totals  for  1909  and  1910  are  given  on  a  later  page. 

BUREAU  OF  INFORMATION 

The  Survey  maintains  a  bureau  of  information  for  the  convenience 
of  inquirers  about  mineral  resources  of  Illinois.  Requests  are  received 
in  great  numbers  both  from  inside  and  outside  the  state.  When  possi¬ 
ble,  a  bulletin  containing  the  desired  information  is  mailed.  Frequently, 


ADMINISTRATIVE  REPORT 


15 


however,  it  is  necessary  to  make  special  study  and  to  reply  by  letter  at 
some  length.  Many  requests  for  the  identification  of  minerals  are  re¬ 
ceived  and  answered  promptly ;  others  for  analysis  of  specimens  are,  for 
the  most  part,  necessarily  refused.  It  has  been  found  that  the  collection 
of  a  representative  sample  of  a  material,  and  the  investigation  of  its 
favorable  occurrence  for  development,  is  quite  as  essential  and  requires 
expert  advice,  just  as  does  chemical  analysis.  As  a  rule,  therefore,  un¬ 
less  a  representative  of  the  Survey  investigates  and  samples  a  mineral 
deposit,  an  analysis  at  public  expense  is  not  justified,  particularly  be¬ 
cause  otherwise  Survey  funds  would  be  seriously  depleted  by  work 
which  frequently  is  of  no  permanent  value.  Preliminary  examinations 
and  opinions  as  to  probable  value  of  minerals,  are  always  cheerfully 
given. 

TOPOGRAPHIC  AND  DRAINAGE  SECTIONS 

In  accordance  with  the  cooperative  agreement  signed  June  25,  1910, 
by  George  Otis  Smith,  Director,  for  the  United  States  Geological  Sur¬ 
vey,  and  July  2,  1915,  by  Hon.  Charles  S.  Deneen,  Chairman  State  Geo¬ 
logical  Survey  Commission,  for  the  State  of  Illinois,  the  Federal  and 
State  surveys  each  allotted  $10,000  for  regular  cooperative  topographic 
surveys  in  Illinois  during  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1911.  In  addi¬ 
tion,  the  Federal  Survey  allotted  $1,250  and  the  State  Survey  $3,750  for 
cooperative  drainage  surveys  during  the  same  period. 

Table  1  presents  a  summary  of  field  and  office  work  accomplished 
from  January  1,  1910,  to  June  30,  1911,  under  the  general  direction  of 
Mr.  R.  B.  Marshall,  Chief  Geographer,  and  under  the  immediate  super¬ 
vision  of  Mr.  W.  H.  Herron,  Geographer  of  the  Central  Division.  The 
work  from  January  1  to  June  30,  1910,  was  continued  under  the  appro¬ 
priations  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1910,  the  results  accom¬ 
plished  during  the  first  six  months  of  that  year  being  reported  in  State 
Geological  Survey  Bulletin  No.  16. 


16 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


Table  1. — Progress  of  field  work  by  the  topographic  and  drainage  sections 


Topographic  surveys 


Quadrangle 

Counties 

Publica¬ 
tion  scale 

Area 

mapped 

Levels 

Traverse 

Pri¬ 

mary 

Bench 

marks 

Pri¬ 

mary 

Bench 

marks 

Secon¬ 

dary 

Sq.  mi. 

Miles. 

Miles. 

Miles. 

Milan 

Rock  Island,  Mer- 

cer. 

1:62,500 

197 

.... 

89 

16 

482 

Waterloo, 

St.  Clair,  Monroe, 

1:62,500 

234 

67 

17 

948 

Canton, 

Fulton,  Knox, 

1:62,500 

227 

426 

Kimmswick, 

St.  Clair,  Monroe, 

1 :62,500 

84 

27 

8 

120 

Colchester, 

McDonough, 

1:62,500 

100 

958 

Renault, 

Monroe,  Randolph, 

1:62,500 

25 

20 

5 

140 

Rosehill  and  Eaton, 

Cumberland  and 

1  18 

io 

Jasper, 

Canton,  Avon  and 

Fulton  and  Knox, 

110 

11 

Glassford, 

Macomb  and  Ver- 

McDonough,  Fulton, 

•  •  •  • 

.  .  .  . 

26 

2 

•  •  •  • 

mont, 

Carthage,  Lomax, 

McDonough,  Han- 

•  •  •  • 

24 

10 

133 

15 

•  •  •  • 

Keokuk,  Col- 

cock,  Schuyler, 

Chester, 

Marseilles, 

La  Salle, 

•  •  •  • 

.... 

.  .  • 

9 

1 

.... 

Ottawa, 

La  Sailed 

•  •  •  • 

•  •  •  • 

.  .  • 

25 

2 

f  •  «  • 

Earlville, 

La  SaRe, 

.... 

•  •  •  • 

.  .  . 

9 

1 

*  '  w  . 

Total  . 

867 

138 

40 

519 

58 

3074 

Drainage  surveys 

Embarrass  River, 

Lawrence,  Jasper, 

1 :24,000 

207 

150 

18 

36 

3 

76 

Crawford, 

Spoon  River, 

Fulton, 

1 :24,000 

37 

47 

5 

31 

3 

Big  Muddy  River, 

Williamson,  Union, 

1:24,000 

... 

61 

... 

•  •  • 

•  •  • 

•  •  • 

Jackson,  Franklin, 

Total . 

244 

258 

23 

67 

6 

76 

The  office  drafting  of  the  Waterloo,  Canton,  Milan,  and  Galena 
topographic  maps  was  completed  and  the  maps  transmitted  for  engrav¬ 
ing  during  the  fiscal  year.  Progress  in  the  drafting  of  incomplete  maps 
was  as  follows:  Kimmswick,  32  per  cent;  Embarrass  River  project  47 
per  cent;  and  the  Spoon  River  project  80  per  cent. 

The  adjustment  of  the  levels  for  the  Carthage,  Colchester,  LaHarpe, 
Lomax,  Birds,  Hardinville,  Newton,  Waterloo,  Kimmswick,  and  Vin¬ 
cennes  quadrangles  was  completed,  the  field  notes  typewritten  and  pre¬ 
pared  for  publication. 

The  final  computation  of  the  geodetic  positions  for  the  Carthage, 
Colchester,  LaHarpe,  Lomax,  Augusta,  Avon,  Canton,  Galesburg,  Glas- 
ford,  Good  Hope,  Havana,  Macomb,  Manilo,  Maquon,  Vermont;  Milan 
and  Madison  (Ill. -la.),  and  Keokuk  (Ill.-Mo.-Ia.)  was  completed  and  the 
results  typewritten. 

The  data  desired  by  the  Internal  Improvement  Commission  regard¬ 
ing  profiles  of  the  Big  Muddy  and  Kaskaskia  rivers  were  obtained,  thus 
terminating  our  cooperation  in  that  work.  New  surveys  on  Spoon  River, 
completed  from  Seville  to  the  Illinois,  include  43  square  miles.  On  Em¬ 
barrass  River,  mapping  was  completed  from  Newton  to  the  vicinity  of 
Lawrenceville,  an  area  of  94  square  miles.  In  both  cases  reference  marks 
were  established  for  determining  profiles  when  they  shall  be  needed. 


ADMINISTRATIVE  REPORT 


17 


PUBLICATIONS 

REPORTS 

During  the  calendar  year  1910  and  the  fiscal  year  ended  June  30, 
1911,  the  following  reports  were  issued: 

Bulletin  12,  Physiography  of  the  St.  Louis  Area,  by  N.  M.  Fenne- 
man;  Bulletin  13,  The  Mississippi  Valley  between  Savannah  and  Dav¬ 
enport,  by  J.  E.  Carman;  Bulletin  14,  Year-Book  for  1908;  Bulletin  15, 
Geography  of  the  Middle  Illinois  Valley,  by  H.  H.  Barrows;  and  Bulle¬ 
tin  16,  Year-Book  for  1909. 

Other  reports  awaiting  the  attention  of  the  printer,  include : 

Cement  Resources  of  Illinois,  Chemistry  of  Sand-Lime  Brick,  and 
Geography  of  the  Wheaton  Area. 

The  distribution  of  these  reports  so  as  to  prevent  waste,  and  yet 
make  them  most  widely  available,  has  been  in  itself  a  considerable  task. 
It  was  thought  that  the  interests  of  all  concerned  would  be  best  met  if 
500  copies  of  each  report  were  reserved  for  sale  at  the  cost  of  printing, 
the  receipts  from  the  sales  being  turned  into  the  state  treasury.  This 
makes  it  possible  for  libraries  to  complete  their  sets  and  for  persons 
having  real  need  for  any  of  the  volumes  to  obtain  the  earlier  ones  at 
small  cost.  The  remainder  of  the  edition  is  distributed  by  the  survey 
and  the  Secretary  of  State  to  institutions  and  individuals  making  appli¬ 
cation  for  them,  or  is  exchanged  with  other  Surveys  or  publishing  or¬ 
ganizations. 

Any  of  the  published  reports  will  be  sent  upon  receipt  of  the  amount 
noted.  Money  orders,  drafts,  and  checks  should  be  made  payable  to 
F.  W.  DeWolf,  Director. 

TOPOGRAPHIC  MAPS 

The  accompanying  illustration  (PI.  I)  shows  the  areas  for  which 
topographic  maps  have  been  prepared  in  cooperation  with  the  U.  S. 
Geological  Survey.  Those  already  published  may  be  obtained  from  this 
office  by  remitting  10  cents  for  each  copy.  As  the  maps  do  not  conform 
to  county  lines  those  desired  should  be  ordered  by  quadrangle  name. 

The  topographic  maps  are  distributed  also  from  Washington.  They 
may  be  purchased  at  the  rate  of  1 0  cents  each  when  fewer  than  50  copies 
are  purchased,  but  when  they  are  ordered  in  lots  of  50  or  more  copies, 
the  price  is  6  cents  each.  Drafts  or  money  orders  should  be  sent  to  the 
Director,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Washington,  D.  C.  lie  is  not  allowed 
to  receive  postage  stamps  or  personal  checks  in  payment. 


18 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


EXPENDITURES 

The  legislature  in  1909  appropriated  for  the  State  Geological  Com¬ 
mission  for  the  new  biennium  as  follows : 

For  the  support  and  extension  of  the  Survey . $25,000  per  annum 

For  making  a  survey  of  overflowed  lands .  7,500 

For  preparing  and  engraving  illustrations  and  maps, 

and  for  printing  and  binding .  2,500  per  annum 

It  has  been  the  rule  to  allot  $10,000  annually  to  topographic  sur¬ 
veys  from  the  general  fund  to  meet  an  equal  amount  furnished  by  the 
U.  S.  Geological  Survey. 

The  total  expenditures  for  the  period  from  Jan.  1,  1910  to  July  1, 
1911  were  as  follows: 


Table  2. — Total  expenditures  Jan.  1,  1910  to  June  SO,  1911 


General  Appropriation — 

Balance  on  hand  Jan.  1,  1910 
Appropriation  July  1,  1910.. 

Total  available . 


$  6,225.51 
25,000.00 


$31,225.51 


Expenditures  Jan.  1,  1910  to  July  1,  1911 — 

Salary  and  expenses  of  director  and  commission 

Clerical  help  and  general  office  expenses . 

General  stratigraphic  studies . 

Cooperative  geology  . 

Surveys  of  oil  fields . 

Water  resources  . 

Chemical  work  on  coals  . 

Miscellaneous . 

Statistics  . 

Studies  of  lead  and  zinc  field  . 

Educational  series  . 

Postage  for  distribution  of  bulletins . 

Topographic  surveys  . 

Balance  available  July  1,  1911 . 


I 


5,526.90 

4,178.69 

1,251.67 

1,785.23 

1,485.64 

663.70 

841.92 

445.64 

54.87 

610.35 

529.20 

993.25 

10,992.53 


Special  appropriation  for  survey  and  study  of 
lands — 

Balance  on  hand  Jan.  1,  1910 . 

Appropriation  July  1,  1910 . 

Total  available  . 

Expended  Jan.  1,  1910  to  July  1,  1911 . 

Balance  available  July  1,  1911 . 


overflowed 


7,518.28 


Preparation  of  illustrations  and  printing — 

Balance  on  hand  Jan.  1,  1910 . 

Appropriation  July  1,  1910 . 


1,438.79 

2,500.00 


Total  available . 

Expended  Jan.  1,  1910  to  July  1,  1911 

Balance  available  July  1,  1911.  .  .  . 


29,359.59 
$  1,865.92 


$  7,518.28 
6,831.99 

$  686.29 


$  3,938.79 
3,410.68 

$  528.ll 


MINERAL  PRODUCTION  OF  ILLINOIS  IN  1909  AND  1910 


Compiled  By  G.  H.  Cady 
OUTLINE 

Introduction  .  21 

Coal  .  22 

Coke  .  25 

Pig  iron  . 25 

Petroleum  .  26 

Natural  gas  .  33 

Clay  and  clay  products .  34 

Limestone  .  38 

Lime  .  38 

Sandstone  .  38 

Cement  . . .  39 

Sand  and  gravel .  39 

Fluorspar  .  42 

Mineral  water  .  42 

Silica  and  tripoli . 42 

Silver,  lead,  and  zinc .  42 


(  19  ) 


MINERAL  PRODUCTION  OF  ILLINOIS  IN  1909  AND  1910 


INTRODUCTION 

The  statistics  for  the  mineral  production  of  Illinois  in  1909  were 
collected  and  compiled  by  the  Census  Bureau  in  cooperation  with  the 
U.  S.  Geological  Survey;  those  for  1910  were  gathered  by  the  State  Geo¬ 
logical  Survey  in  cooperation  with  the  United  States  Geological  Survey. 
The  figures  presented  in  the  tables  to  follow  are  the  final  results  of  the 
tabulations  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey  for  both  years. 

The  industries  included  in  the  mailing  lists  are  engaged  in  produc¬ 
ing  one  or  more  of  the  following  materials :  coal,  oil,  gas,  coke,  clay, 
brick,  tile,  pottery,  stoneware,  sandstone,  limestone,  cement,  sand,  gravel, 
mineral  waters,  and  mineral  paints.  The  production  is  in  most  cases,  to 
be  published  finally  by  county  totals,  except  where  there  are  less  than 
three  operators  in  one  industry  in  the  county.  In  this  latter  case  the 
production  of  that  county  will  be  concealed  by  including  it  with  that  of 
some  larger  unit. 

Table  3  shows  total  value  of  Illinois  minerals  since  1907 ;  and  also 
the  value  exclusive  of  pig  iron  which,  in  most  part,  is  produced  from 
minerals  shipped  into  the  State. 

Table  3. — Total  value  of  Illinois  mineral  'products  1907-1910 

Value  excluding  Value  including 


pig  iron  pig  iron 

1907  . $93,539,464  $145,768,464 

1908  .  92,765,688  122,900,688 

1909  .  98,840,729  343,051,729 

1910  .  98,891,759  141,809,121 


Pennsylvania  with  a  mineral  production  valued  at  $554,044,102 
and  Ohio  with  a  production  valued  at  $193,214,492  led  Illinois  in  total 
value  of  mineral  products.  Illinois,  moreover,  ranks  ahead  of  Ohio  if 
the  value  of  pig  iron  is  not  considered. 

In  Table  4  are  shown  the  quantity  and  value  of  the  mineral  products 
of  Illinois  in  the  calendar  years  1908,  1909,  and  1910. 


(  21 ) 


22 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


Table  4. — Output  and  value  of  mineral  products  of  Illinois,  1908-1910 


Product 

1908 

1909 

1910 

Quantity 

Value 

Quantity 

Value 

Quantity 

Value 

Cement:  Natural  barrels 

Portland  . do . 

Clay  products  . 

188,859 

3,211,168 

Coal  . short  tons 

Fluorspar . do .  .  . 

Glass  sand . do .  .  . 

Infusorial  earth  . 

47,659,690 

31,727 

194,722 

Iron,  pig . long  tons 

Lead  . short  tons 

Lime  . do  .  .  . 

Mineral  water . 

1,691,944 

363 

92,549 

685,763 

Natural  cas 

Petroleum  . barrels 

Pyrite  .  .  long  tons 

33,685,106 

Sand  and  gravel . 

. short  tons 

Silver. fine  ounces  (troy) 
Stone 

6,463,026 

2,000 

Zinc . short  tons 

298 

Other  products 
Total  . 


$68,772 

2,707,044 

11,559,114 

49,978,247 

172,838 

139,172 

(a) 

30,135,000 

30,492 

393,951 

4,241,392 

(a) 

$  3,388,667 
14,344,453 
53,522,014 
232,251 
153,226 
39,262 
44,211,000 
23,478 
454,682 

50,904,990 

41,852 

224,381 

2,467,156 

273 

104,260 

58,904 

446,077 

22,648,881 

(a) 

1,363,850 

639,460 

49,108 

644,401 

19,788,864 

17,551 

1,796,271 

30,898,339 

5,600 

8,930,848 

1,100 

3,134,770 

28,012 

0,34,464 

900 

500 

4,261,818 

72,900 

051,283 

675 

122,900,688 

143,051,729 

4,459,450 


45,900,246 

47,302 

268,654 


2,675,646 

262 

113,239 

1,117,620 


33,143,362 

8,541 


2,000 

351 


(a) 

$4,119,012 

15,176,161 

52,405,897 

277,764 

216,531 

33,390 

42,917,362 

23,056 

503,581 

83,148 

613,642 

19,669,383 

28,159 

(a) 

1,100 
3,853,425 
167,508 
al, 720, 002 


141,809,121 


a  Includes  in  1908:  Infusorial  earth,  pyrite,  sand-lime  brick;  in  1909:  Natural  cement,  etc; 
in  1910:  Natural  cement,  sand  and  gravel,  sublimed  blue  and  white  lead,  leaded  zinc,  zinc  oxide. 


COAL 

The  total  production  of  coal  in  1909  was  50,904,990  short  tons,  value 
$53,522,014.  The  total  production  in  1910  was  45,898,846  short  tons, 
value  $52,403,629. 

As  shown  in  Table  5  the  value  of  coal  production  amounts  to  over 
50  per  cent  of  the  total  mineral  output  of  the  State.  A  table  showing 
the  output  of  coal  in  the  State  for  the  last  five  years  is  given  below : 

Table  5. — Output  and  value  of  coal  production  in  Illinois,  1906-1910 

Short  tons  Value 


1906  . 41,480,104  $44,763,062 

1907  . 51,317,146  54,687,382 

1908  . 47,608,161  49,936,159 

1909  . 50,904,990  53,522,014 

1910  . 45,898,846  52,403,629 


Mr.  Edward  W.  Parker  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey  states1  that 
Illinois  contained  in  1901  more  coal-producting  counties  than  any  other 
state  in  the  Union,  there  having  been  52  counties  that  produced  more 
than  1,000  tons  each.  In  1910  three  of  these  counties,  Hamilton,  Jersey, 
and  Kankakee,  ceased  producing. 

Among  the  productive  counties,  Williamson  was  well  in  the  lead  in 
1909  with  an  output  of  6,537,654  tons.  Sangamon  County  ranked  sec¬ 
ond  with  5,616,357  tons,  Macoupin  third  with  4,597,775  tons.  In  1910 

marker,  E.  W.,  Coal  production  by  states  and  territories:  U.  S.  Geological  Survey 
Mineral  Resources,  1909,  pt.  2,  p.  114,  1911. 


ILLINOIS  MINERAL  STATISTICS 


23 


St.  Clair  County  with  an  output  of  5,788,567  tons  took  first  place.  Wil¬ 
liamson  County  ranked  second  with  4,620,372  tons,  and  Sangamon 
County  declined  to  third  place  with  4,449,634  tons. 

The  most  significant  new  development  is  shown  by  the  production 
of  Saline  County  which  increased  from  2,552,137  tons  in  1908  to  3,283,- 
939  tons  in  1909,  a  gain  of  731,802  tons.  Unnatural  increases  and  de¬ 
creases  characterize  the  output  of  the  various  counties  in  1910  due  to 
the  distribution  of  strike-affected  areas.  This  accounts  for  the  unusual 
production  in  St.  Clair  and  Madison  counties,  and  for  the  falling  off  in 
Williamson,  Macoupin,  Saline,  and  most  of  the  other  counties.  Table  6 
shows  in  order  of  production  those  counties  producing  over  one  million 
tons  of  coal  in  1909  and  1910. 


Table  6. — Counties  producing  over  one  million  tons  of  coal,  1909  and  1910 


Rank 

1909 

Rank 

1910 

County 

Tons 

County 

Tons 

1 

Williamson 

6,537,654 

1 

St.  Clair 

5,788,567 

2 

Sangamon 

5,616,357 

2 

Williamson 

4,620,372 

3 

Macoupin 

4,597,775 

3 

Sangamon 

4,449,634 

4 

St.  Clair 

3,471,630 

4 

Madison 

4,102,773 

5 

Madison 

3,373,798 

5 

Macoupin 

3,854,229 

6 

Saline 

3,283,939 

6 

Vermilion 

2,515,250 

7 

Fulton 

2,388,617 

7 

Saline 

2,459,650 

8 

Franklin 

2,316,509 

8 

Montgomery 

1,799,720 

9 

Vermilion 

1,919,955 

9 

Franklin 

1,778,768 

10 

Montgomery 

1,780,668 

10 

Fulton 

1,721,527 

11 

La  Salle 

1,686,391 

11 

La  Salle 

1,178,885 

12 

Bureau 

1,612,452 

12 

Perry 

1,367,771 

13 

Perry 

1,423,135 

13 

Christian 

1,223,295 

14 

15 

16 

Christian 

Marion 

Grundy 

1,395,158 

1,171,950 

1,114,101 

14 

Randolph 

1,025,557 

The  average  price  per  ton  for  coal  at  the  mines  during  the  last  five 
years  is  shown  below. 


Table  7. — Average  price  of  Illinois  coal  at  mines,  1906-1910 


190(5 

1907 

1908 

1909 

1910 


$1.08 

1.0G5 

1.048 

1.05 

1.14 


24 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


Table  8  shows  by  counties  the  tonnage  and  value  of  Illinois  coal  pro¬ 
duced  in  1909  and  1910. 


Table  8. — Coal  production  of  Illinois  in  1909  and  1910  by  counties,  in  short  tons 

1909 


County 

Loaded  at 
mines 
for  ship¬ 
ment 

Sold  to 
local 
trade 
and  used 
by  em¬ 
ployees 

Used  at 
mines  for 
steam 
and  heat 

Made 

into 

coke 

Total 

quantity 

Total 

value 

Aver¬ 

age 

price 

per 

ton 

Bureau . 

1,466,060 

83,735 

62,657 

•  .  •  . 

1.612,452 

$2,667,714 

$1.65 

Christian . 

1,240,629 

91,922 

62,607 

.  •  .  •  • 

1,395,158 

1,361,080 

.98 

Clinton . 

922,330 

14,667 

33,712 

. 

970,709 

840,955 

.87 

Franklin . 

2,232,716 

22,898 

60,895 

.... 

2,316,509 

2,344,708 

1.01 

Fulton . 

2,242,852 

91,199 

54,566 

.... 

2,388,617 

2,687,916 

1.12 

Gallatin . 

47,338 

14,702 

2,044 

629 

64,713 

66,780 

1.03 

Grundy . 

1,038,663 

46,029 

29,409 

. 

1,114,101 

1,805,698 

1.62 

Henry . 

62,510 

69,342 

5,208 

. 

137,060 

213,299 

1.56 

Jackson . 

576,350 

41,150 

34,780 

•  .  .  . 

652,280 

787,867 

1.21 

Knox . 

30 

20,900 

1,043 

•  •  .  . 

21,973 

37,865 

1.72 

La  Salle . 

1,299,706 

314,937 

71,748 

.... 

1,686,391 

2,709,920 

1.61 

Livingston .... 

183,035 

54,952 

8,044 

.  .  .  •  • 

246,031 

355,159 

1.44 

Logan . 

McDonough .  .  . 
Macon . 

315,505 

1,640 

78,441 

49,661 

14,636 

149,288 

30,722 

. 

395,888 

16,276 

238,607 

420,949 

32,599 

379,278 

1.06 

2.00 

10,878 

•  •  •  • 

1.59 

Macoupin . 

4,435,247 

55,796 

106,732 

.... 

4,597,775 

4,262,484 

.93 

Madison . 

3,208,365 

81,999 

83,434 

.... 

3,373,798 

3,018,927 

.89 

Marion . 

1,088,738 

36,863 

46,349 

.  •  •  •  • 

1,171,950 

1,040,326 

.89 

Marshall . 

254,367 

32,997 

8,448 

.... 

295,812 

465,303 

1.57 

Menard . 

262,739 

33,596 

7,613 

.  •  •  .  • 

303,948 

331,420 

1.09 

Mercer . 

326,740 

29,985 

13,037 

.  •  •  .  • 

369,762 

494,778 

1.34 

Montgomery.  . 

1,698,360 

38,204 

44,104 

.  •  •  •  • 

1,780,668 

1,750,978 

.98 

Peoria . 

768,096 

123,837 

23,028 

.  •  .  .  . 

914,961 

1,080,478 

1.18 

Perry . 

1,351,240 

25,609 

46,286 

.... 

1,423,135 

1,247,952 

.87 

Randolph . 

762,873 

22,797 

14,223 

.... 

799,893 

732,147 

.92 

Rock  Island.. 

13,535 

30,525 

2,168 

.... 

46,228 

67,792 

1.47 

St.  Clair . 

3,196,913 

183,083 

91,634 

.... 

3,471,630 

3,028,452 

.87 

Saline . 

3,196,902 

31,200 

55,837 

.... 

3,283,939 

3,072,287 

.94 

Sangamon .... 
Scott . 

5,158,239 

314,540 

1,756 

24,661 

143,578 

300 

.... 

5,616,357 

2,056 

5,416,284 

5,162 

.96 

2.50 

Shelby . 

93,818 

5,608 

124,087 

168,605 

1.36 

Stark  . 

6,016 

16,334 

809 

23,159 

38,715 

1.67 

Tazewell . 

121,277 

80,577 

6,195 

.... 

208,049 

257,520 

1.24 

Vermilion .... 

1,628,841 

236,132 

54,982 

1,919,955 

1,899,735 

.99 

Warren . 

11,440 

11,918 

864 

12,304 

25,683 

2.09 

Will . 

146,294 

4,095 

162,307 

254,530 

1.57 

Williamson .  .  . 
Other  counties11 
and  small 

6,271,779 

73,062 

192,813 

.... 

6,537,654 

6,354,491 

.99 

mines . 

897,101 

262,018 

49,679 

.... 

1,208,798 

1,796,178 

1.49 

Total .... 

46,595,285 

2,838,947 

1,470,129 

629 

50,904,990 

53,522,014 

1.05 

Aver¬ 
age 
num¬ 
ber  of 
days 
active 

Aver¬ 

age 

number 
of  em¬ 
ployees 

69,425 

aBond,  Crawford,  Greene,  Hancock,  Jefferson,  Jersey,  Kankakee,  McLean,  Morgan,  Moul¬ 
trie,  Putnam,  Schuyler,  Washington,  White  and  Woodford. 


ILLINOIS  MINERAL  STATISTICS 


25 


1910 


County- 


Bureau  .  .  .  . 
Christian .  .  . 
Clinton .... 
Franklin.  .  . 

Fulton . 

Gallatin.  .  .  . 
Grundy. . . . 

Henry . 

Jackson. .  .  . 

Knox . 

La  Salle 
Livingston .  . 

Logan . 

McDonough . 

Macon . 

Macoupin.  .  . 
Madison 
Marion 
Marshall .  .  . 
Menard .... 

Mercer . 

Montgomery 

Peoria . 

Perry . 

Randolph.  .  . 
Rock  Island 
St.  Clair.  .  . 

Saline . 

Sangamon .  . 

Shelby . 

Stark . 

Tazewell.  .  . 
Vermilion .  . 
Williamson 
Other  coun- 
tiesa  and 
small  mines 

Total.  .  .  . 


Loaded  at 
mines 
for  ship¬ 
ment 

Sold  to 
local 
trade 
and  used 
by  em¬ 
ployees 

Used  at 
mines  for 
steam 
and  heat 

Made 

into 

coke 

Total 

quantity 

Total 

value 

Aver¬ 

age 

price 

per 

ton 

Aver¬ 
age 
num¬ 
ber  of 
days 
active 

Aver¬ 

age 

number 
of  em¬ 
ployees 

867,063 

63,626 

42,657 

973,346 

$1,488,070 

$1.53 

157 

3,294 

1,058,371 

102,620 

62,^304 

1,223,295 

1,322,162 

1.08 

134 

1,912 

891,542 

16,686 

42,015 

950,243 

1,092,752 

1.15 

186 

1,290 

1,694,295 

23,257 

61,216 

1,778,768 

2,312,342 

1.30 

133 

2,882 

1,611,261 

66,469 

43,797 

1,721,527 

2,253,307 

1.31 

145 

3,448 

55,927 

10,875 

1,720 

1,569 

70,091 

85,000 

1.21 

154 

127 

547,231 

33,960 

19,090 

600,281 

968,563 

1.61 

131 

2,257 

78,431 

42,746 

3,066 

124,243 

225,018 

1.81 

228 

235 

494,726 

41,863 

47,651 

584.240 

776,363 

1.33 

123 

1,128 

27,549 

746 

28,295 

54,174 

1.91 

200 

81 

839,173 

290,656 

49,056 

1,178,885 

2,032,002 

1.72 

171 

3,171 

105,208 

49,625 

8,065 

162,898 

262,056 

1.61 

135 

413 

337,604 

50,230 

21,410 

409,244 

469,657 

1.15 

152 

788 

9,252 

16,843 

243 

26,338 

61,194 

2.32 

181 

88 

116,471 

110,306 

8,584 

235,361 

387,713 

1.65 

177 

492 

3,665,759 

63,399 

125,071 

3,854,229 

3,479,049 

.90 

176 

4,570 

3,878,517 

134,741 

89,515 

4,102,773 

4,222,078 

1.03 

202 

3,924 

760,588 

24,595 

27,690 

812,873 

801,117 

.99 

152 

1,256 

213,590 

44,545 

9,312 

267,447 

466,724 

1.75 

159 

1,032 

278,225 

43,698 

10,634 

332,557 

464,375 

1.40 

199 

512 

201,081 

19,025 

8,918 

229,024 

343,115 

1.50 

138 

560 

1,709,995 

50,284 

39,441 

1,799,720 

1,907,006 

1.06 

159 

2,374 

683,440 

113,232 

13,923 

810,595 

1,042,478 

1.29 

157 

1,463 

1,303,716 

22,940 

41,115 

1,367,771 

1,411,553 

1.03 

157 

2,310 

973,761 

26,544 

25,252 

1,025,557 

1,065,969 

1.04 

200 

1,165 

13,449 

50,766 

1,992 

66,207 

109,433 

1.65 

179 

79 

5,417,001 

241,940 

129,626 

5,788,567 

5,763,249 

1.00 

195 

5,598 

2,389,033 

30,811 

39,806 

2,459,650 

2,713,514 

1.10 

134 

4,248 

4,076,071 

246,223 

127,340 

4,449,634 

5,014,237 

1.13 

151 

7,099 

105,504 

24,893 

5,275 

135,672 

179,291 

1.32 

137 

354 

14,630 

17,302 

650 

32,582 

53,056 

1.63 

216 

56 

90,800 

62,166 

2,693 

155,659 

210,824 

1.35 

174 

327 

2,251,534 

215,893 

47,823 

2,515,250 

2,691,574 

1.07 

205 

3,540 

4,354,824 

57,281 

195,286 

12,981 

4,620,372 

5,086,928 

1.10 

133 

8,050 

730,657 

229,025 

47,370 

1,007,052 

1,589,954 

1.54 

150 

2,522 

41,818,730 

2,666,614 

1,400,352 

14,550  45,900,246 

52,405,897 

1.14 

160 

72,645 

aBond,  Calhoun,  Greene,  Hancock,  Jefferson,  McLean,  Morgan,  Moultrie,  Putnam,  Schuy¬ 
ler,  Scott,  Warren,  Washington,  White,  Will,  and  Woodford. 


COKE 

Practically  all  coke  made  in  Illinois  is  from  mixtures  of  Illinois  coal 
with  Eastern  coal  in  by-product  ovens.  Following  are  the  statistics  rela¬ 
tive  to  the  production  in  1909  and  1910. 


Table  9. —  Production  of  cole  in  Illinois,  1909  and  1910 


1909 

No.  of  ovens  used .  468 

Coke  produced  (short  tons) .  1,276,956 

Value  of  coke  produced  . $5,361,510 

Value  of  coke  per  ton  .  $4.20 

Number  operators . 


1910 

508 

1,514,504 

$6,712,550 

$4.43 

3 


PIG  IRON 

In  Table  10  the  pig-iron  production  of  Illinois  is  given  for  1908, 
1909,  and  1910. 


26 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


Table  10. — Production  of  pig  iron  in  Illinois ,  1908-1910 


Blast  furnaces 


Production  including  spie- 
geleisen  and  ferro-manga- 
nese,  in  long  tons 


In  blast 

J line  30,1909 

Dec.  31,1909 

In  blast 
June  30,  1910 

Dec.  31,  1910 

1908 

1909 

1910 

In 

Out 

Total 

In 

Out 

Total 

19 

23 

o 

O 

26 

20 

11 

15 

26 

1,691,944 

2,467,156 

2,675,646 

PETROLEUM1 

Production  and  Development 

In  reviewing  the  larger  oil  fields  from  the  east  westward  the  condi¬ 
tion  of  declining  production  ceases  when  Illinois  is  reached.  A  total  of 
33,113,362  barrels  produced  in  1910  is  almost  the  record  output  for  the 
State  and  exceeds  the  total  for  1909  by  2,244,023  barrels,  or  7.27  per 
cent.  In  1908  the  product  was  33,686,238  barrels.  The  increase  in  1910 
was  due  largely  to  the  active  drilling  in  the  deep  territory  of  Lawrence 
County,  where  two  new  sands,  the  “Tracy”  and  the  “McClosky, ”  were 
found  beneath  those  previously  known;  but  an  equally  interesting 
feature  was  the  development  of  the  Centralia-Sandoval  pool  in  Marion 
County.  Careful  and  thorough  work  of  R.  S.  Blatchley  enabled  the 
Illinois  State  Geological  Survey  to  indicate  regions  of  probable  petro¬ 
leum  pools  and  the  actual  and  successful  development  followed  in  1911, 
especially  at  Carlyle,  in  Clinton  County.  The  credit  for  developing  this 
Clinton  County  field  belongs  to  the  Illinois  State  Geological  Survey, 
which,  from  structural  considerations,  pointed  out  this  as  a  probable 
locality  for  an  oil  pool. 

The  following  details  of  the  developments  in  the  Illinois  field  in  1910 
are  taken  from  a  circular  of  the  Illinois  State  Geological  Survey  by 
Raymond  S.  Blatchley,  geologist  :2 

SOUTHEASTERN  ILLINOIS  FIELDS 

Clarlc  County.— The  Clark  County  and  adjoining  shallow  oil  areas  were  almost 
inactive,  and  little  drilling  was  done  during  the  year.  One  profitable  deep  test  was 
drilled  to  a  depth  of  2,969  feet  by  the  Ohio  Oil  Co.  on  the  K.  and  N.  E.  Young  farm, 
near  Casey.  Oil  and  gas  of  considerable  sulphur  content  were  found  at  2,750  feet, 
seemingly  in  the  1  ‘  Trenton  ’  ’  limestone.  The  combined  daily  output  of  the  Clark, 
Cumberland,  and  Edgar  County  wells  was  about  9,000  barrels. 

Crawford  County. — Considerable  drilling  in  Crawford  County  failed  to  prevent 
the  decline  of  new  production  over  1909.  The  drilling  was  chiefly  scattered  over  the 
entire  pool  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year.  In  the  later  months  a  concentration 
of  development  took  place  in  the  Bellair  (Licking  Township)  area,  where  new  produc- 

1Day,  D.  T.,  Advance  chapter  from  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey  Mineral  Resources,  1910,  pp. 
61-66,  1911. 

-The  Illinois  oil  field  in  1910. 


ILLINOIS  MINERAL  STATISTICS 


27 


live  sands  between  1,000  and  1,100  feet  were  found.  Many  good  wells  were  com¬ 
pleted.  The  average  well  in  the  county  is  far  below  the  previous  initial  yield,  indi¬ 
cating  the  inevitable  decline  unless  new  sands  are  discovered.  The  yield  reached 
about  30,000  barrels  daily  in  1910  as  against  100,000  in  1907. 

Lawrence  County. — Highly  profitable  but  expensive  drilling  took  place  in  Law¬ 
rence  County,  where  seven  distinct  sands  produce  oil  in  varying  quantity  and  grade. 
They  lie  between  750  and  1,900  feet  in  depth,  and  in  order  are:  The  Bridgeport  No. 
1  and  No.  2  sands,  from  750  to  900  feet  deep;  the  Buchanan  sand,  1,275  to  1,400 
feet;  the  Kirkwood  sand,  1,550  to  1,650  feet;  the  Tracy  sand,  1,700  to  1,750  feet; 
the  McClosky  sand,  1,825  to  1,860  feet,  and  the  Green,  Henry,  and  Pepple  sands, 
from  1,850  to  1,900  feet  deep,  possessing  a  few  wells  each  and  very  narrow  limits. 
The  McClosky  and  Tracy  sands  are  the  richest  developed  in  Illinois.  The  former  is 
in  the  “ King- Applegate  pool.”  The  chief  activities  of  the  year  were  in  the  two 
above-mentioned  sands.  Most  of  all  the  w^ells  from  these  sands  produced,  initially, 
between  500  and  2,000  barrels.  A  short-lived  impetus  was  given  to  the  Lawrence 
County  area  early  in  the  year,  when  a  new  pool  was  tapped  on  the  outskirts  of  Law- 
renceville,  some  2  miles  or  more  from  the  active  fields.  Two  wells  of  100-barrels 
yield  were  drilled,  but  several  surrounding  dry  wells  discredited  the  area.  The  aver¬ 
age  daily  yield  of  the  Lawrence  County  area  wras  between  45,000  and  55,000  barrels. 
Both  “sour”  and  “sweet”  oils  were  produced,  but  each  Avas  handled  separately. 

Surrounding  areas. — Considerable  wildcatting  was  done  several  miles  west  and 
south  of  the  present  fields  in  Richland,  Clay,  Wayne,  Gallatin,  and  Wabash  counties, 
but  without  any  showing  of  oil  except  in  Gallatin  County,  Avhere  the  amounts  were 
small  and  insignificant.  The  area  in  Richland,  Wayne,  and  Clay  counties  lies  on  or 
near  the  synclinal  axis  of  the  Illinois  coal  basin. 

SOUTHERN  CENTRAL  AND  WESTERN  ILLINOIS 

Marion  County. — The  best  results  from  recent  wfildcatting  were  obtained  in 
Marion  County  during  1909-10.  The  new  Sandoval  field  of  4  wells  in  1909,  noAv,  on 
December  1,  1910,  has  35  producing  wells  yielding  over  3,000  barrels  daily,  16  dry 
holes,  and  22  drilling  wells.  The  oil  comes  from  the  Benoist  sand,  in  the  Chester 
formations  of  the  Mississippian  series  of  rocks,  and  is  equivalent  to  the  Kirkwood 
sand  of  Latvrence  County.  Its  average  depth  is  about  1,550  feet.  A  second  pool  was 
opened  up  during  the  year  near  Centralia,  several  miles  south  of  the  Sandoval  area. 
Four  light  w’ells  and  several  dry  holes  have  been  drilled.  The  productive  sand  is 
the  same  as  that  found  near  Sandoval.  The  two  fields  seem  to  lie  along  an  irregular 
terrace  upon  the  broad  and  gentle  western  flank  of  the  Illinois  basin.  The  general 
trend  is  to  Duquoin,  on  the  south,  and  to  Brownstown  and  Pana,  to  the  north.  Much 
drilling  is  contemplated  along  this  area. 

Bond  County. — A  new  gas  area  was  tapped  early  in  the  year  near  Greenville.  The 
sand  wras  found  between  950  and  1,000  feet  and  wTas  correlated  with  the  Benoist 
sand  of  Sandoval  and  the  Kirkwood  sand  of  Law?rence  County.  The  wells  yielded 
from  1,250,000  to  2,000,000  cubic  feet  of  gas  daily.  A  recent  test  was  put  down  on 
the  Brown  farm,  near  Pocahontas,  and  secured  an  initial  production  of  about  25 
barrels  at  a  depth  of  1,975  feet.  The  pay  seems  to  lie  in  the  Niagara  limestone. 
Much  drilling  is  being  done  at  the  present  time  in  an  effort  to  develop  both  the  gas 
and  the  lower  oil  pay. 

WILDCAT  WORK  IN  WESTERN  ILLINOIS 

Several  light-pressure  gas  wrells  were  drilled  near  Jacksonville,  Morgan  County, 
during  the  year.  The  yield  came  from  a  depth  of  about  300  feet  and  Avas  odorless 


28 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


and  colorless,  but  burned  with  a  very  hot  blue  flame.  Several  barren  wells  were 
drilled  in  Jefferson,  Washington,  Perry,  Monroe,  and  Clinton  counties.  Much  new 
drilling  was  started  late  in  the  year  along  the  Sandoval-Duquoin  terrace,  especially 
in  Washington  and  Perry  counties. 

On  January  1,  1910,  it  was  estimated  that  16,497  wells  had  been  drilled  in  Illi¬ 
nois.  Of  these,  2,379,  or  14.4  per  cent,  were  barren.  In  the  first  11  months  of  1910, 
1,973  wTells  were  drilled,  with  430,  or  21.8  per  cent,  barren.  The  total  up  to  date  is 
18,470  drilled  and  2,809,  or  15.6  per  cent,  barren. 

The  total  production,  by  months,  for  the  last  six  years  is  given  in 

Table  11. 


Table  11. — Production  of  petroleum  in  Illinois,  1905-1910,  by  months,  in  barrels 


Month 

1905 

1906 

1907 

1908 

1909 

1910 

January . 

55,680 

781,812 

2,703,973 

2,668,607 

2,640,303 

February . 

65,208 

956,399 

2,572,115 

2,510,548 

2,353,684 

March . 

19,352 

1,547,323 

2,825,491 

2,757,794 

2,865,055 

April . 

102,862 

1,874,465 

3,249,690 

2,562,215 

2,776,800 

May . 

267,746 

2,138,918 

3,223,515 

2,829,277 

2,860,760 

June . 

6,521 

410,655 

1,879,362 

3,081,848 

2,670,549 

2,746,620 

July . 

17,306 

610,401 

2,422,192 

2.693,288 

2,728,857 

3,029,787 

August . 

23,827 

778,464 

2.446,042 

2,808,667 

2,719,958 

3,007,151 

September . 

26,586 

722,168 

2,605,663 

2,675,385 

1,902,197 

2,850,119 

October . 

27,589 

463,819 

2,863,812 

2,709,913 

2,560,072 

2,768,750 

2,629,132 

N  ovember . 

34,611 

350,985 

2,510,146 

2,479,926 

2,497,847 

December . 

44,644 

549,710 

2,255,839 

2,662,427 

2,490,418 

2,615,201 

Total . 

181,084 

4,397,050 

24,281,973 

33,686,238 

30.898,339 

33,143,362 

Table  12. — Production  and  value  of  petroleum  in  Illinois,  1905-1910,  in  barrels 


Year 

Ohio  oil 
Co. 

Other  lines 

Total 

quantity 

Total 

value 

1905 . 

156,503 
4,385,471 
23,733,790 
31  972,634 

24,581 

11,579 

548,183 

1,713,604 

3,257,566 

5,392,272 

181,084 

4,397,050 

24,281,973 

33,686,238 

30,898,339 

33,143,362 

$116,561 

3,274,818 

16,432,947 

22,649,561 

19,788,864 

19,669,383 

1906 . 

1907 . 

1908 

1909 . 

27,640,773 

27,751,090 

1910 . 

Table  13. — Production  of  petroleum  in  Illinois  in  1909-1910,  by  kinds  in  barrels 


Year 

Light 

Heavy 

Total 

1909 . 

28,049,468 

2,848,871 

30,898,339 

1910 . 

30,444,279 

2,699,083 

33,143,362 

Pipe-line  Runs,  Deliveries,  and  Stocks 

The  following  tables  show  the  runs  of  the  Ohio  Oil  Co.  during  the 
years  1905-1910,  and  deliveries  and  stocks  in  1907-1910,  by  months: 


ILLINOIS  MINERAL  STATISTICS 


29 


Table  14. — Pipe-line  runs,  deliveries,  and  sioclcs  of  the  Ohio  Oil  Co.  in  Illinois,  1905- 

1910,  by  months,  in  barrels 


Month 

Pipe-line  runs 

1905 

1906 

1907 

1908 

1909 

1910 

Januarv . 

February . 

March . 

April . 

Mav . 

June . 

July . 

August . 

September . 

October . 

November . 

December . 

Total . 

5,489 

9,208 

15,092 

19,592 

26,444 

34,766 

45,912 

55,680 

65,208 

19,352 

102,862 

267,746 

410,655 

610,401 

778,464 

722,168 

463,819 

350,985 

538,131 

752,671 

918,620 

1,494,598 

1,823,025 

2,094,195 

1,830,634 

2,376,281 

2,398,895 

2,560,593 

2,818,032 

2,464,981 

2,201,265 

2,497,359 

2,464,914 

2,591,911 

3,089,417 

3,084,816 

2,965,786 

2,579,977 

2,690,931 

2,555,871 

2,582,561 

2,356,386 

2,512,705 

2,494,492 

2,358,198 

2,568,392 

2,388,309 

2,536,413 

2,365,956 

2,413,218 

2,411,483 

1,595,934 

2,228,269 

2,149,372 

2,130,737 

2,220,842 

1,976,637 

2,377,012 

2,306,336 

2,374,134 

2,274,501 

2,569,830 

2,528,532 

2,409,232 

2,334,659 

2,211,286 

2,168,089 

156,503 

4,385,471 

23,733,790 

31,972,634 

27,640,773 

27,751,090 

Month 


January. . 
February . 
March.  .  .  . 

April . 

May . . 

June . 

July . 

August .  .  . 
September 
October.  .  . 
November . 
December. 

Total.  .  . 


Month 


January . 

February . 

March . 

April . 

May . 

June . 

Julv . 

«/ 

August . 

September . 

October . 

November . 

December . 

a  Includes  some  Indiana  petroleum. 


Deliveries 


1907 

1908 

1909 

1910 

142,001 

1,720,631 

324,887 

1,226,379 

401,344 

1,882,978 

869,212 

842,135 

444,078 

1,010,459 

721,519 

882,209 

385,432 

1,476,192 

891,423 

936,706 

563,585 

1,869,461 

903,838 

946,346 

551,502 

1,846,947 

1,077,383 

1,156,895 

1,395,238 

2,012,288 

1,176,410 

1,332,242 

1,440,640 

1,774,354 

1,052,431 

1,229,479 

1,105,589 

1,488,283 

849,533 

1,135,323 

1,590,566 

1,394,983 

938,860 

1,245,778 

1,815,964 

1,284,304 

1,120,751 

997,805 

848,450 

1,789,158 

685,585 

1,036,260 

10,684,389 

19,550,038 

10,611,832 

12,967,557 

Stocks 


1907 

1908 

1909 

1910a 

2,509,598 

14 

,129,954 

25,876,529 

28,355,182 

3,040,111 

15 

,069,278 

26,203,238 

28,356,243 

4,117,635 

15 

,975,633 

26,630,509 

28,373,855 

5,528,759 

17 

,420,534 

26,856,675 

28,593,365 

7,117,033 

19 

,077,020 

27,593,494 

29,025,647 

8,448,344 

20 

,456,387 

27,899,220 

29,106,098 

9,387,999 

21 

,036,143 

27,627,086 

29,198,965 

10,355,000 

22 

,267,197 

27,683,334 

29,177,382 

12,557,522 

23 

,485,690 

28,399,427 

28,879,676 

13,724,691 

24 

,396,787 

28,535,636 

28,492,136 

14,275,036 

24 

,905,168 

28,373,985 

28,086,619 

15,751,305 

25 

,252,468 

28,671,543 

27,348,358 

The  following  table  shows  the  quantity  of  petroleum  shipped  bv 
railroad  from  the  Illinois  oil  field,  1907  to  1910,  b}r  months: 


Table  15. — Shipments  of  petroleum  by  railroad  in  tanlc  cars  from  llluiois  oil  field,  in  pounds  and  equivalent  in  barrels ,  1907  1910, 

by  months 


30 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


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ILLINOIS  MINERAL  STATISTICS 


31 


Prices 

In  the  following  table  are  given  the  dates  of  change  and  the  changes 
in  prices  at  wells  of  the  different  grades  of  petroleum  produced  in  Illinois 
during  the  years  1908,  1909,  and  1910 : 

Table  16. — Fluctuation  in  prices,  per  barrel,  of  Illinois  petroleum  in  1908,  1909, 

and  1910 


1908 

1909 

1910 

Date 

Above 
30°  B 

Below 
30°  B 

Date 

Above 
30°  B 

Below 
30°  B 

Date 

Above 
30°  B 

Below 
30°  B 

Jan.  1 .  . .  . 

$0.68 

$0.60 

Jan.  1 .  .  .  . 
June  26.  . 
July  16.  . 
Oct.  21.  .  . 

$0.68 

.65 

.62 

.60 

$0.60 

.57 

.54 

.52 

J an.  1 .  . . 

$0.60 

$0.52 

In  the  following  table  are  given  the  average  monthly  prices  paid  for 
Illinois  petroleum  at  wells  in  Illinois  from  1905  to  1910,  inclusive: 


Table  17. — Average  monthly  prices  of  Illinois  petroleum,  1905-1910,  per  barrel 


1908 

1909 

1910 

Month 

1905 

1906 

1907 

Above 
30°  B 

Below 
30°  B 

Above 
30°  B 

Below 
30°  B 

Above 
30°  B 

Below 
30°  B 

J  anuary . 

$0.79 

$0.64 

$0.68 

$0.60 

$0.68 

$0.60 

$0.60 

$0.52 

February . 

.79 

.65% 

.68 

.60 

.68 

.60 

.60 

.52 

March . 

.79 

.67% 

.68 

.60 

.68 

.60 

.60 

.52 

April . 

.80% 

.68 

.68 

.60 

.68 

.60 

.60 

.52 

May . 

.83 

.68 

.68 

.60 

.68 

.60 

.60 

.52 

June . 

$0.60 

.83 

.68 

.68 

.60 

.67i/o 

.091/2 

.60 

.52 

July . 

.60 

.82% 

.68 

.68 

.60 

.63% 

•55% 

.60 

.52 

August . 

.60 

-71% 

.68 

.68 

.60 

.62 

.54 

.60 

.52 

September . 

.61 

.64 

.68 

.68 

.60 

.62 

.54 

.60 

.52 

October . 

.64 

.64 

.68 

.68 

.60 

.61% 

.53% 

.60 

.52 

November . 

.66 

.64 

.68 

.68 

.60 

.60 

.52 

.60 

.52 

December . 

.70 

.64 

.68 

.68 

.60 

.60 

.52 

.60 

.52 

.644 

.745 

•67% 

.68 

.60 

.64% 

.56% 

.60 

.52 

Well  Record 

In  the  following  tables  is  given  the  well  record  for  Illinois  from 
1906  to  1910,  inclusive: 


82 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


Table  18. — Number  of  wells  completed  in  Illinois,  1906-1910,  by  counties 


Completed 

Dry 

Productive 

1906 

1907 

1908 

1909 

1910 

1906 

1907 

1908 

1909 

1910 

1906 

1907 

1908 

1909 

1910 

Bond . . . . 

7 

6 

1 

Clark .  .  . 

1,337 

1,176 

385 

181 

112 

164 

201 

87 

47 

32 

1,173 

975 

298 

134 

80 

Coles . . .  . 

65 

56 

9 

12 

5 

14 

11 

1 

3 

1 

51 

45 

8 

9 

4 

Crawford 

1,060 

2,840 

2,322 

2,093 

1.210 

164 

376 

336 

355 

260 

896 

2,464 

1,986 

1,738 

950 

Cumber- 

land .  .  . 

558 

152 

42 

33 

17 

53 

13 

11 

10 

4 

505 

139 

31 

23 

13 

Edgar. . . 

37 

25 

9 

6 

2 

16 

14 

2 

4 

2 

21 

11 

7 

2 

Hancock . 

1 

1 

J ac-kson . 

3 

2 

2 

2 

1 

Jasper . . . 

18 

8 

11 

4 

7 

4 

Lawrence 

176 

691 

762 

724 

689 

33 

70 

78 

56 

95 

143 

621 

684 

668 

594 

Macoupin 

9 

2 

8 

2 

1 

Madison . 

2 

1 

1 

1 

1 

Marion.  . 

23 

60 

17 

26 

6 

34 

Randolph 

12 

10 

2 

Saline .  .  . 

2 

1 

1 

1 

1 

Miscellan- 

eous. . . 

50 

48 

45 

33 

32 

46 

43 

40 

33 

32 

4 

5 

5 

Total  . 

3,283 

4,988 

3,574 

3,151  2,149 

490 

728 

555 

558 

a468  2,793 

4,260 

3,019 

2,593 

1,681 

a  Includes  75  wells  producing  gas. 


Table  19. — Number  of  wells  completed  in  Illinois,  1906-1910,  by  months 


Year 

Jan. 

Feb. 

Mar. 

Apr. 

May 

June 

July 

Aug. 

Sept. 

Oct. 

Nov. 

Dec. 

Total 

1906 . 

108 

253 

359 

435 

496 

449 

453 

376 

354 

3  283 

1907 . 

253 

356 

351 

387 

493 

639 

521 

461 

400 

363 

430 

334 

4,988 

1908 . 

303 

157 

187 

197 

264 

390 

474 

417 

344 

290 

273 

278 

3,574 

1909 . 

213 

224 

216 

263 

321 

342 

346 

303 

282 

242 

223 

176 

3,151 

1910 . 

111 

158 

128 

157 

192 

211 

172 

245 

234 

198 

177 

166 

2,149 

Table  20.- 

-Number  of  dry  holes  drilled  in  Illinois,  1906-1910, 

by  months 

Year 

Jan. 

Feb. 

Mar. 

Apr. 

May 

June 

July 

Aug. 

Sept. 

Oct. 

Nov. 

Dec. 

Total 

1906 . 

20 

37 

41 

69 

82 

69 

47 

64 

61 

490 

1907 . 

41 

55 

60 

40 

64 

75 

72 

45 

62 

82 

80 

52 

728 

1908 . 

55 

22 

37 

33 

35 

54 

65 

55 

49 

51 

47 

52 

555 

1909 . 

41 

47 

45 

38 

45 

53 

50 

57 

50 

48 

52 

32 

558 

1910 . 

17 

43 

29 

41 

43 

50 

43 

47 

48 

30 

39 

38 

a  468 

“Includes  75  wells  producing  gas. 


Table  21. — Total  and  average  initial  daily  production  of  new  ivells  in  Illinois,  1906- 

1910,  by  counties,  in  barrels 


County 


Total  initial  production 


Average  initial  production 
per  well 


1906 

1907 

1908 

1909 

1910 

1906 

1907 

1908 

1909 

1910 

Bond . 

25 

25.0 

Clark . 

31,060 

20,385 

6,953 

3,219 

1,802 

26.5 

20.9 

23.3 

24.0 

22.5 

Coles . 

279 

314 

122 

95 

65 

5.5 

7.0 

15.3 

10.6 

16.3 

Crawford . 

59  204 

84  163 

46  694 

44  379 

26  382 

66  1 

34  2 

23  5 

25  5 

27  8 

Cumberland . 

15,115 

3!612 

303 

558 

162 

29.9 

26.0 

9.8 

24.3 

12.5 

Edgar . 

101 

118 

45 

10 

4.8 

10.7 

6.4 

5.0 

Hancock . 

5 

5.0 

Jackson . 

3 

3.0 

Jasper . 

50 

40 

7.1 

10.0 

Lawrence . 

7,230 

30,543 

24,793 

41,056 

61,015 

50.6 

49.2 

36.2 

61.5 

102.7 

Macoupin . 

5 

5.0 

Madison . 

10 

10.0 

Marion . 

99  3 

3,760 

37.2 

110.6 

Randolph . 

145 

72  5 

Saline . 

3 

. . 

3.0 

Miseella  neon s . 

23 

28 

50 

5.8 

5.6 

10.0 

Total . 

113,012 

139,163 

78,960 

89,756 

93,256 

40.5 

32.7 

26.2 

34.6 

55.5 

ILLINOIS  MINERAL  STATISTICS 


33 


Table  22. — Total  initial  daily  production  of  new  wells  in  Illinois,  1906-1910,  by 

months,  in  barrels 


Year 

Jan. 

Feb. 

Mar. 

Apr.  1  May 

June 

July 

Aug. 

Sept. 

Oct. 

Nov. 

Dec. 

19106 

1907 

1908 

1909 

1910 

3,736  8,137 

11,083  13,329 
4,285  6,628 

5,237  7,681 

7,260  8,091 

17,148 

18,807 

9,856 

9,050 

9,267 

15,262 

17,375 

9,475 

9,820 

6,386 

22,432 

11,240 

8,322 

8,661 

10,042 

9,705 

10,967 

7,848 

8,324 

8,419 

14,039 

8,157 

6,091 

8,904 

10,133 

10,611 

9,780 

6,242 

9,628 

8,832 

11,942 

8,758 

6,607 

7,540 

7,062 

9,433 

6,144 

5,060 

5,331 

9,842 

3,329 

4,833 

6,840 

10,392 

4,133 

5,018 

5,593 

Total 


113,012 

139,163 

78,960 

89,756 

93,256 


NATURAL  GAS1 

The  condition  of  the  natural-gas  industry  was  practically  the  same 
in  Illinois  in  1910  as  in  1909.  The  returns  show  a  slight  decline  in 
output  and  value  of  gas  produced.  The  total  quantity  of  gas  produced 
in  1910  amounted  to  6,723,286,000  cubic  feet,  valued  at  $613,642,  as 
against  8,472,860,000  cubic  feet  in  1909,  valued  at  $644,401.  The  larger 
portion  of  this  gas  was  utilized  for  industrial  purposes,  principally  for 
the  operation  of  engines  and  boilers  in  the  fields. 

With  the  exception  of  Bond  County,  no  new  developments  were 
reported  in  1910.  In  Bond  County  three  gas  wells  have  been  drilled, 
the  product  of  which  is  used  to  supply  Greenville.  Other  cities  and 
towns  supplied  in  1910  were  Heyworth,  supplied  from  shallow  wells  in 
McLean  County;  Carlinville,  supplied  from  wells  in  Macoupin  County; 
Vincennes,  Ind.,  supplied  from  wells  in  Crawford  County;  Bridgeport, 
Casey,  Olney,  Lawrenceville,  Sumner,  New  Hebron,  Oblong,  Palestine, 
Stoy,  Duncansville,  Flatrock,  Birds,  Pinkstaff,  Hutsonville,  Annapolis, 
Porterville,  Robinson,  Marshall,  and  Martinsville,  supplied  with  gas 
from  wells  in  Crawford,  Clark,  Cumberland,  and  Lawrence  counties. 

The  number  of  productive  gas  wells  in  Illinois  at  the  close  of  1910 
was  435,  of  which  64  were  drilled  in  1910.  During  the  year  1910,  52  gas 
wells  were  abandoned. 


Table  23. — Record  of  natural-gas  industry  in  Illinois,  1906-1910 


Year 

Gas  produced 

Gas  consumed 

Wells 

Num¬ 
ber  of 
pro¬ 
ducers 

Value 

Number  of  con¬ 
sumers 

Value 

Drilled 

Produc¬ 
tive 
Dec.  31 

Domestic 

Indus¬ 

trial 

Gas 

Dry 

1906 . 

66 

$87,21 1 

1,429 

2 

$87  21 1 

non 

1907 . 

128 

143,577 

2,126 

61 

143,577 

94 

41 

283 

1908 . 

185 

446,077 

“  7,3  7  7 

“204 

“446,077 

121 

42 

400 

1909 . 

194 

644,401 

“  8,45  8 

“518 

“644,401 

56 

11 

423 

1910 . 

207 

613,642 

“10,109 

“479 

“613,642 

64 

31 

435 

alncludes  number  of  consumers  and  value  of  gas  consumed  in  Vincennes,  Ind. 


1Hill,  B.,  Extract  from  Mineral  Resources  of  the  U.  S.,  1910,  pp.  316  and  317,  1911. 


34 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


Table  24. — Depth  and  gas  pressure  of  ivells  in  Illinois,  1908-1910,  hy  counties 


County 

Depth,  in 

Pressure,  in  pounds 

feet 

1908 

1909 

1910 

Bureau11 . 

105-  330 

0-  30 

0-  23 

0-  23 

Champaign11 . 

80-  130 

15-  32 

Clark. . .7 . 

250—  550 

65-100 

38-100 

35—  45 

Crawford . 

Cumberland . 

500-1,550 
500-  575 

25-400 
15-  35 

45-275 

40 

20-225 

De  Witta . 

94-  120 

25-  50 

Edgar . 

265-  600 

. 

75-127 

Lawrence . 

Leea . 

1,400-1,652 
175-  280 

500-600 

200-580 

200-750 
18-  28 

Pike . . . 

100-  893 

3-  10 

3-  7 

4-  10 

•'’From  shallow,  unconsolidated,  glacial  deposits. 


CLAY  AND  CLAY  PRODUCTS 

The  value  of  the  clay  and  clay  products  of  Illinois  in  1909  was  $14,- 
344,453  as  against  $11,559,114  in  1908.  In  1910  the  value  was  $15,176,- 
161.  The  increase  from  1908  to  1909  amounted  to  nearly  $3,000,000,  and 
that  from  1909  to  1910  to  $831,708.  The  unusually  high  percentage  of 
increase  between  1908  and  1909  was  due  to  the  decrease  in  business  in 
1908.  It  seems  probable  that  the  coal  strike  in  1910  tended  to  decrease 
the  amount  of  brick  and  other  clay  products  manufactured  in  that  year 
on  account  of  the  dependence  of  many  of  the  plants  upon  local  mines 
for  their  fuel. 

Table  25  shows  a  summary  of  the  value  of  clay  products  of  Illinois 
for  the  five  years  from  1906  to  1910. 


ILLINOIS  MINERAL  STATISTICS 


35 


Table  25. — Clay  products  of  Illinois,  1906-1910 


Product 

1906 

1907 

1908 

1909 

1910 

Brick  : 

Common — 

Quantity  . 

1,195,210,000 

1,494,807,000 

1,119,224,000 

1,257,025,000 

1,196,526,000 

Value  . 

$5,719,906 

$6,499,777 

$4,834,652 

$5,927,054 

$6,896,836 

Average  per  M .  . 

$4.79 

$4.35 

$4.32 

$4.72 

$5.76 

Vitrified — 

Quantity  . 

122,227,000 

126,927,000 

138,362,000 

140,105,000 

115,903,000 

Value  . 

$1,306,476 

$1,405,821 

$1,622,496 

$1,562,373 

1,415,355 

Average  per  M.  . 

$10.69 

$11.08 

$11.73 

$11.15 

$12.21 

Front — 

Quantity  . 

30,022,000 

20,828,000 

22,851,000 

32,416,000 

22.138,000 

Value  . 

$341,298 

$266,270 

$301,515 

$385,170 

$274,699 

Average  per  M .  . 

$11.37 

$12.78 

$13.19 

$11.88 

$12  41 

Fancy  or  orna- 

mental  .  .  .  .value 

$11,635 

(a) 

(a) 

$12,223 

$10,875 

Enameled  . do 

(a) 

(a) 

(a) 

(a) 

(a) 

Fire  . do 

$236,032 

$241,008 

$250,444 

$682,793 

$368,730 

Stove  lining . do 

(a) 

(a) 

(a) 

Draintile  . do 

$1,052,588 

$1,031,192 

$1,421,878 

$1,613,593 

$1,613,698 

Sewer  pipe . do 

$587,805 

$662,487 

$514,386 

$394,461 

$538,633 

Architectural  terra 

cotta  . do 

(a) 

(a) 

(a) 

$1,898,865 

$1,680,438 

Fireproofing  . do 

$416,928 

$429,535 

$264,986 

$439,796 

$552,905 

Tile,  not  drain.  .  .do 

(a) 

(a) 

$124,425 

$335,020 

(a) 

Pottery: 

Red  earthen- 

ware  . do 

$37,543 

$37,045 

$24,821 

$31,771 

$25,658 

Stoneware  and  yel- 

low  and  Rocking- 

ham  ware,  .value 

$897,650 

$898,267 

$733,373 

$702,411 

$708,958 

White  ware,  includ- 

ing  C.  C.  ware, 

w  h  i  t  e  granite 

semi-  porcelain 

ware,  and  semi- 

vitreous  porcelain 

ware  . value 

(a) 

(a) 

(a) 

(a) 

Sanitary  ware,  .do 

(a) 

(a) 

Porcelain  electrical 

supplies  value 

(a) 

(a) 

Miscellaneous  ...do 

$2,026,320 

$1,749,087 

$1,466,138 

$358,t|23 

$1,089,376 

Total  value . 

$12,634,181 

$13,220,489 

$11,559,114 

$14,344,453 

$15,176,161 

Number  of  operating 

firms  reporting.  .  .  . 

466 

417 

400 

379 

346 

Rank  of  State . 

5 

4 

4 

4 

4 

“Included  in  “Miscellaneous.” 


Table  26  gives  as  far  as  possible  the  detail  of  the  production  of 
brick,  tile,  and  pottery  in  1909  and  1910. 

The  average  price  of  common  brick  per  thousand  in  Illinois  in 
1909  was  $4.72;  in  1910,  $5.76:  of  vitrified  brick  in  1909,  $11.15;  in 
1910,  $12.21  :  of  front  brick  in  1909,  $11.88;  in  1910,  $12.41 :  of  fire  brick 
in  1909,  $21.88;  in  1910,  $18.27.  The  great  increase  in  the  price  of  com¬ 
mon  brick  was  due  to  the  increase  in  Cook  County,  where  it  rose  from 
$4.20  in  1909  to  $5.62  in  1910. 


36 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


Table  26.— Brick,  tile  and  pottery  production  of  Illinois,  by  counties 


1909 

Common 

brick 

Drain  tile 
Value 

Pottery 

V  alue 

County 

Quantity 

Thousands 

Value 

Adams . 

Boone . 

Bureau . 

Cass . 

Champaign . 

Coles . 

Christian . 

Clark . 

Clinton . 

Cook . 

Edwards . 

Effingham . 

Fayette . 

Ford . 

Fulton . 

Gallatin . 

Greene . 

Hamilton . 

Henry . 

Iroquois . 

Jefferson . 

Kankakee . 

Lake . 

La  Salle . 

Lawrence . 

Livingston . 

Logan . 

McDonough. . . . 

McLean . 

Macon  . 

Macoupin . 

Madison . 

Marion . 

Mason . 

Massac . 

Menard . 

Mercer . 

Montgomery.  .  . 

Morgan . 

Ogle . 

Peoria . . 

Pike . 

Rock  Island 

St.  Clair . . 

Saline . 

Sangamon . 

Schuyler . 

Shelby . 

Tazewell . 

Vermilion . 

Wabash . 

Warren . 

Washington 

White . 

Will . 

"Other  counties. 

Total . 


8,136 

$57,208 

2,860 

15,855 

925 

6,706 

6,980 

43,526 

2,775 

18,360 

900 

5,700 

335 

2,345 

855,248 

3,591,840 

1,117 

7,768 

1,119 

6,325 

2,961 

20,450 

11,440 

68,980 

890 

5,820 

810 

3,987 

2,383 

16,207 

1,037 

7,386 

73,831 

320,387 

5,215 

16,800 

9,457 

101,521 

9,144 

69,208 

2,110 

15,970 

1,830 

12,765 

6,650 

39,675 

9,523 

70,323 

1,593 

10,240 

15,682 

91,892 

2,875 

17,438 

1,000 

6,000 

500 

3,413 

2,833 

17,812 

1,098 

8,091 

2,898 

17,798 

600 

4,380 

7,750 

47,900 

702 

4,350 

11,575 

69,383 

40,899 

262,756 

2,640 

16,740 

15,050 

97,402 

1,600 

8,900 

340 

2,660 

21,550 

108,425 

75,551 

397,082 

750 

4,575 

1,425 

10,225 

1,748 

10,663 

1,490 

9,680 

27,200 

174,137 

1,257,025 

5,927,054 

5,000 

32,454 


17,500 

26,025 


9,700 

10,352 

11,214 

20,460 


16,012 

66,820 

77,184 

175,164 

185,522 

32,559 

67,257 

19,959 

28,109 

45,533 


7,169 

41,857 

30,759 

35,330 

16,800 

2,350 


20,396 

14,108 

28,923 

21,000 

74,144 

29,975 

48,317 

395,641 


1,613,593 


30,657 


148,505 


21,786 


258,290 


397,317 


838,555 


"Including  Alexander,  Bond,  Calhoun,  Carroll,  Crawford,  De  Kalb,  DeWitt,  Doug¬ 
las,  DuPage,  Edgar,  Franklin,  Grundy,  Hancock,  Jackson,  Jasper,  Jefferson,  Kane, 
Kendall,  Knox,  Monroe,  Moultrie,  Perry,  Piatt,  Pulaski,  Randolph,  Richland,  Scott, 
Stephenson,  Stark,  Wayne,  Williamson,  and  Woodford  counties. 


ILLINOIS  MINERAL  STATISTICS 


37 


1910 


County 

Common  brick 

Drain  tile 
Value 

Quantity 

Thousands 

Value 

Adams . 

7,863 

$59,270 

$ . 

Bureau . 

2,106 

11,885 

41,948 

Gass . 

929 

6,614 

Christian . 

1,652 

11,753 

26,800 

Clark  . 

QOO 

Odd 

5,200 

Coles . 

11,500 

Cook . 

764,262 

4,296,234 

Edgar . 

2,500 

Edwards . 

917 

6,520 

11,600 

Effingham . 

435 

2,280 

140 

Fayette . 

2,500 

17,575 

5,650 

Ford . 

5,412 

Fulton . 

14,034 

88,919 

Gallatin . 

1,100 

7,200 

10,500 

Greene 

Hancock . 

297 

’  2,495 

15,650 

Henry . .  . 

770 

5,905 

Iroquois . 

674 

4,347 

60,963 

Kane . 

2,512 

15,741 

69,565 

Kankakee . 

85,372 

413,860 

181,084 

Knox . 

22,805 

177,560 

La  Salle . 

2,130 

15,062 

217,335 

Lee . 

35,300 

Livingston . 

10,234 

76,981 

64^854 

Logan . 

2,071 

11,566 

13,120 

McDonough . 

2,710 

19,950 

31,021 

McLean . 

5,708 

35,956 

37,268 

Macon . 

8,640 

53,880 

Madison . 

18,217 

100,554 

Marion . 

1,390 

8,250 

2,250 

Menard . 

3,213 

19,516 

9,242 

Mercer . 

63,479 

Montgomery . 

2,413 

14,980 

33.801 

Morgan . 

490 

3,545 

26,000 

Peoria . 

6,226 

36,455 

Rock  Island . 

9,327 

59,187 

•  ••••••• 

St.  Clair . 

52,015 

338  727 

Sangamon . 

9,251 

58,986 

16,026 

Schuyler . 

1,567 

10  100 

Shelby . 

335 

2,376 

11,740 

Tazewell . 

15,903 

88  015 

Vermilion . 

14  776 

Warren . 

1,125 

8,200 

106,638 

Washington . 

2,990 

16,917 

White . 

2,120 

14,200 

33,076 

Will . 

3,448 

19,079 

42,100 

bOther  counties . 

125,942 

750,916 

379,860 

Total . 

1,196,526 

6,896,836 

1,603,698 

Pottery 

Value 


$ 


28,205 


124,639 


152,844 

844,747 


including  Alexander,  Bond,  Boone,  Calhoun,  Carroll,  Champaign,  Clinton,  Craw¬ 
ford,  DeKalb,  DeWitt,  Douglas,  DuPage,  Edgar,  Ford,  Franklin,  Greene,  Grundy, 
Hamilton,  Jackson,  Jasper,  Jefferson,  Kendall,  Lake,  Lawrence,  Macoupin,  Mason, 
Massac,  Mercer,  Monroe,  Moultrie,  Ogle,  Piatt,  Pike,  Pulaski,  Randolph,  Richland, 
Saline,  Scott,  Stark,  Union,  Wabash,  Wayne,  Williamson,  and  Woodford  counties. 


38 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


Table  27  shows  the  amount  and  value  of  clay  mined  in  Illinois  in 
1909  and  1910. 

Table  27. — Clay  mined  and  sold  in  Illinois  in  1909  and  1910,  in  short  tons 


1909 

1910 

Fire  clay 

Quantity . 

45,800 

82,878 

Value . 

$37,884 

$111,078 

Stoneware  clay 

Quantity . 

33,098 

42,410 

Value . 

27,886 

34,202 

Brick  clay 

Quantity . 

26,255 

13,704 

Value . 

19,943 

16,344 

Miscellaneous  clay 

Quantity . 

38,901 

49,811 

Value . 

29,155 

29,272 

Total 

Quantity . 

144,060 

188,803 

Value . 

150,868 

190,896 

LIMESTONE 

In  1909  the  five  leading  counties  in  the  production  of  limestone  were 
as  follows:  (1)  Cook,  with  a  total  production  amounting  in  value  to 
$2,504,377,  over  half  the  total  value  of  limestone  produced  in  the  State ; 
(2)  Vermilion,  the  value  in  the  table  being  concealed;  (3)  Will,  value 
$383,759;  (4)  Kankakee,  value  $164,467;  (5)  St.  Clair,  value  $133,049. 

In  1910  the  order  of  the  five  leading  counties  was:  Cook,  Union, 
Will,  Kankakee,  and  St.  Clair.  The  respective  values  of  production, 
omitting  Union,  were  $1,929,621;  $421,063;  $221,486;  and  $178,312. 
Vermilion  County  ceased  producing. 

LIME 

Kilns  where  lime  was  burned  during  at  least  one  of  the  two  years 
(1909-1910)  were  located  in  the  following  counties:  Adams,  Carroll, 
Cook,  Jo  Daviess,  Kankakee,  Madison,  Monroe,  Rock  Island,  Whiteside, 
Will,  and  Winnebago.  Cook  County  led  with  a  value  of  production 
amounting  to  $278,000,  or  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  state  total. 

SANDSTONE 

The  counties  producing  sandstone  in  1909  were  Alexander,  Carroll, 
Fulton,  Henry,  and  St.  Clair;  St.  Clair  leading  with  a  production  valued 
at  $26,891. 

Table  28  shows  the  production  of  lime,  limestone,  and  sandstone  in 
1908-1910. 


ILLINOIS  MINERAL  STATISTICS 


39 


Table  28. — Value  of  lime,  limestone,  and  sandstone,  1908-1910 


Year 

Lime 

Limestone 

Sandstone 

Quantity 

V  alue 

1908 

Short  tons 
92,549 

$393,951 

$3,122,552 

$12,218 

1909 

104,260 

113,239 

454,682 

4,234,927 

26,891 

1910 

503,581 

3,847,715 

5,710 

CEMENT 

The  production  of  Portland  cement  in  1909  from  the  five  mills  of 
the  State  amounted  to  4,241,392  barrels  valued  at  $3,388,667,  an  increase 
of  1,030,224  barrels  and  $681,623  over  the  figures  for  1908.  In  1910  the 
production  was  4,452,450  barrels  valued  at  $4,119,012,  an  increase  over 
the  previous  year  of  211,058  barrels  and  $730,345.  The  average  price 
per  barrel  of  cement  fluctuated  from  84  cents  in  1908  to  80  cents  in 
1909,  and  to  90  cents  in  1910. 

SAND  AND  GRAVEL 

The  statistics  relative  to  the  production  of  sand  and  gravel  in  Illi¬ 
nois  in  1909  and  1910  are  shown  in  Table  29. 


Table  29 . — Production  of  sand  and  gravel  in  Illinois  in  1909-19 10 


1909 

1910 

Quantity 
(short  tons) 

Value 

Quantity 
(short  tons) 

Value 

Glass  sand . 

224,381 

$153,226 

268,654 

$  216,531 

Molding  sand . 

288,518 

143,922 

407,232 

215,742 

Building  sand . 

1,917,915 

632,273 

1,756,652 

473,209 

Grinding  and  polishing  sand . 

41,475 

28,549 

Fire  sand . 

2,370 

1,473 

17,840 

12,886 

Engine  sand . 

104,882 

11,242 

43,147 

6,840 

Furnace  sand . 

22,840 

13,700 

79,793 

48,046 

Other  sands” . 

3,188,885 

277,056 

1,170,089” 

102,207 

Gravel1’ . . 

3,405,438 

716,605 

4,801,626 

626,785 

8,586,508 

1,730,795 

9,155,229 

1,949,497 

“Chiefly  sands  used  by  railroads  for  filling. 

•’O ravel  includes  large  quantity  of  sand  used  by  railroads  for  filling. 


Table  30  shows  the  value  of  the  production  of  sand  and  gravel  in 
Illinois  by  counties  for  1909  and  1910. 


40 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


Table  30. — Production  of  sand  and  gravel 

1909 


County 

Pro¬ 

ducers 

Glass  sand 

Molding  sand 

Building  sand 

Grinding  and 
polishing  sand 

Fire 

sand 

Yards 

Value 

Yards 

Value 

Yards 

Value 

Yards 

Value 

Yards 

Bond . 

3 

26,935 

2,855 

$21,698 

1,613 

.«  i  nn 

Bureau . 

6 

28,837 

1,670 

193,993 

45,500 

296,417 

237,873 

21,975 

21.643 

51,000 

495,109 

1,450 

30,168 

58,112 

7,434 

1,250 

72,641 

837 

Carroll . 

4 

Cook . . 

4 

Henderson .  .  . 

3 

1,200 

23,031 

760 

Kane . 

19 

10,070 

Qfi’afic: 1 

Lake . 

6 

73,761 

19,695 

11,213 

18,011 

157,874 

750 

15,247 

11,925 

La  Salle.  .  .  . 

16 

204,381 

$139,226 

201,437 

600 

81,324 

600 

520 

Lee . 

8 

Logan . 

3 

McHenry .... 

5 

8.500 

11,014 

1,215 

5,700 

12,108 

450 

Madison . 

3 

350 

Peoria . 

12 

. 

Rock  Island.  . 

3 

Vermilion .... 

Whiteside.  .  .  . 

5 

3,384 

400 

2,940 

5,007 

2,817 

240 

2,400 

4,142 

5,940 

59,571 

261,800 

106,607 

3,650 

23,483 

74,665 

37,372 

Will . 

8 

Winnebago.  . 
“Other  coun¬ 
ties  . 

4 

20,000 

14,000 

1,500 

Total . 

224,381 

153,226 

288,518 

143,922 

1,917,915 

632,273 

2,370 

“Including:  Alexander,  Boone,  DeKalb,  Du  Page,  Fayette,  Fulton,  Hancock,  Jo  Daviess, 


1910 


County 

Pro¬ 

ducers 

Glass  sand 

Molding  sand 

Building  sand 

Grinding  and 
polishing  sand 

Fire 

sand 

Yards 

Value 

Yards 

Value 

Yards 

Value 

Yards 

Value 

Yards 

Bond . 

6 

4 

5 

4 

16 

3 

19 

5 

5 

4 

5 

6 

3 

3 

3 

4 

7 

4 

26  500  821.5751  5  065 

$  2,740 
850 
9,247 
536 
32,127 
3,500 
5,392 
1,925 
160,000 
8,999 
125 
10,056 
27,845 
3,808 
4,400 
1,060 
28,576 
75,686 

96,337 

t 

Boone . 

1,903 

31,473 

1,284 

119,692 

17,457 

9,200 

3,603 

585,000 

39,911 

338 

12,481 

110,313 

14,233 

11,100 

1,987 

89,189 

273,088 

429,335 

. 

Bureau . 

6,260 

3,556 

Carroll . 

Kane . 

36,599 

22,429 

Lake . 

La  Salle .... 
Lee . 

231,276 

$164,197 

293,476 

41 

12,000 

15,038 

133,130 

37 

6,200 

16,202 

41,475 

$28,549 

7,590 

McHenry.  .  .  . 
Madison .  .  . 

Ogle . 

Peoria . 

Rock  Island. 
Tazewell . 

Wabash . 

Whiteside 

Will . 

4,323 

720 

.1,000 

11,275 

3,555 

432 

800 

7,826 

Winnebago.  . 
bOther  coun¬ 
ties  . 

Total . 

37,378 

52,334 

10,250 

|268,654 

216,531 

407,232 

215,742 

1,756,652 

473,209 

41,475 

28,549 

17,840 

••Including:  Cook,  DeKalb,  Fulton,  Hancock,  Henderson,  Jo  Daviess,  Kendall,  Logan, 


ILLINOIS  MINERAL  STATISTICS 


41 


in  Illinois  in  1909  and  1910,  by  counties 


Fire 

sand 

Engine  sand 

Furnace  sand 

Other  sands 

Gravel 

Total 

Value 

Yards 

Value 

Yards 

Value 

Yards 

Value 

Yards 

Value 

Yards 

Value 

125 

$  50 

1,375 
13,178 

875 

$  420 

23,374 
19,327 
39,171 

28,185 

104,293 

185,254 

447,225 

112,841 

731,160 

331,266 

1,273,695 

41,160 

72,340 

3,516,347 

12,814 

306,906 

78,087 

19,620 

662,902 

392,606 

394,043 

444,485 

$  22,268 
33,796 
33.755 
111,812 
11,896 
214,105 
98,892 
436,626 
21,633 
25,354 
412,208 
13,296 
71,149 
17,888 
4,800 
76,597 
99,392 
116,174 

127,856 

2,500 

71,159 

70,101 

112,425 

253,232 

66,141 

$4,299 

34,965 

6,575 

376,747 

70,893 

777,429 

18,617 

21,340 

228,155 

101,095 

21,381 

144,731 

9,620 

7,343 

65,106 

22,500 

3,750 

$260 

22,840 

$13,700 

45,113 

37,690 

300 

200 

2,784,583 

183,528 

438 

1,080 

550 

1,620 

600 

272,823 

19,975 

18,000 

503,578 

330,685 

114,775 

215,788 

54,302 

5,963 

3,600 

60,130 

74,169 

36,957 

49,916 

1,620 

150,000 

1,950 

1,200 

10,000 

1,500 

14,528 

333 

2,152 

291 

775 

95,250 

21,360 

1473 

104,882 

11,242 

22,840 

13,700 

3,188,885 

277,056 

3,405,438 

716,605 

9,155,229 

1,949,497 

Kendall,  Mercer,  Ogle,  Randolph,  St.  Clair,  Shelby,  Stephenson,  Tazewell,  and  Vermilion  counties. 


Fire 

sand 

Engine  sand 

Furnace  sand 

Other  sands 

Gravel 

Total 

Value 

Yards 

Vaiue 

Yards 

Value 

Yards 

Value 

Yards 

Value 

Yards 

Value 

| 

2,067 

9,088 

75,935 

1,815 

517,720 

47,363 

721,861 

1,608 

434,839 

$  1,180 
2,408 
30,460 
1,525 
67,509 
11,213 
36,452 
314 
32,035 

33,632 

12,291 

113,668 

3,099 

679,005 

151,970 

1,407,269 

6,752 

1,817,360 

55,449 

298,107 

212,650 

130,771 

109,615 

42,013 

278,305 

489,871 

1,433,459 

1,311,222 

$  25,495 
3,858 
43,263 
2,061 
123,396 
32,333 
436,993 
3,526 
244,319 
25,451 
67,980 
55,940 
35,671 
36,324 
14,300 
25,387 
73,366 
216,085 

300,381 

1,300 

$  600 

4,994 

67,500 

21,996 

1,500 

785,521 

1,331 

15,000 

16,830 

1,250 

46,084 

19,650 

602 

$2,620 

361 

$4,036 

79,793 

$48,046 

500 

250 

297,769 

200,169 

20,458 

92.475 

30,913 

6.015 

398,662 

1,125,000 

817,869 

32,521 

45,884 

7,826 

31,935 

9,900 

3,040 

43,458 

134,500 

134,625 

2,907 

581 

265,980 

1  300 

17,732 

OOO 

17,280 

5,115 

3,200 

409 

17,091  1,899 

8,850 

12,886 

43,147 

6,840 

79,793 

48,046 

1,170,089  102,207 

4,801,626 

626,785 

8,586,508 

1,730,795 

Menard,  Mercer,  Piatt,  Pulaski,  St.  Clair,  Stephenson,  and  Vermilion  counties. 


42 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


FLUORSPAR 

The  production  of  fluorspar  from  1908  to  1910  is  shown  by  Table  31. 


Table  31. — Fluorspar  marketed  in  1908,  1909,  and  1910,  in  short  tons 


Year 

Gravel 

Lump 

Ground 

Total 

quantity 

Total 

value 

Quan¬ 

tity 

V  alue 

Quan¬ 

tity 

Amine 

Quan¬ 

tity 

\Talue 

1908 

21,332 

$96,315 

6,189 

$33,267 

4,206 

$43,256 

31,727 

$172,838 

1909 

29,880 

135,366 

4,667 

23,625 

7,305 

73,260 

41,852 

232,251 

1910 

35,477 

178,880 

6,151 

38,415 

5,674 

60,469 

47,302 

277,764 

MINERAL  WATER 

Table  32  shows  the  production  of  mineral  water  in  Illinois  in  1909 
and  1910. 


Table  32. — Production  of  mineral  vjater  in  Illinois  in  1909  and  1910 a 


Year 

No. 

springs 

Y  alue 

Total 

gallons 

Medicinal 

water 

Table  water 

1909 

14 

$49,108 

639,460 

$ . 

$ . 

1910 

16 

83,148 

1,117,620 

2,485 

80,663 

aExclusive  of  amount  used  for  soft  drinks. 


SILICA  OR  TRIPOLI 

The  production  of  tripoli  from  Union  and  Alexander  counties  in 
southern  Illinois  in  1909  and  1910  was  valued  at  $38,262  and  $33,390 
respectively. 

SILVER,  LEAD,  AND  ZINC 

The  total  value  of  the  productions  of  silver,  lead,  and  zinc  from  the 
mines  of  Illinois  in  1909  was  $259,500  as  compared  with  $417,208  in 
1910.  Table  33  shows  the  classified  production. 


Table  33. — Mine  production  of  silver,  lead,  and  zinc  in  Illinois  in  1909-1910 


Year 

Silver 

Lead 

Zinc 

Total 

value 

Quantity 

Aralue 

Quantity 

Aralue 

Quantity 

Aralue 

1909 . 

Fine 

ounces 

1,011 

2,022 

$  526 
1,092 

Short 

tons 

295 

373 

$25,370 

32,824 

Short 

tons 

2,163 

3,549 

$233,604 

383,292 

$259,500 

417,208 

1910 . 

CARLYLE  OIL  FIELD  AND  SURROUNDING  TERRITORY 

By  E.  W.  Shaw 

U.  S.  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


(IN  COOPERATION  WITH  THE  STATE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY) 


OUTLINE 

PAGE 

Introduction  .  45 

Area  treated  in  report .  45 

Acknowledgments  .  45 

Objects  and  methods  of  work .  4(3 

Oil  and  gas  prospecting . 45 

Geology  of  the  region . 47 

Stratigraphy  .  47 

General  discussion  .  47 

Rocks  older  than  carboniferous .  48 

Carboniferous  system  .  53 

Mississippian  series  .  53 

Pennsylvanian  series  . 54 

Pottsville  sandstone  .  54 

Carbondale  formation  .  55 

McLeansboro  formation  .  55 

Quaternary  system  .  . .  56 

Summary  of  geologic  history .  56 

Structure  .  57 

General  structure  of  area .  57 

Method  of  representing  structure .  58 

Use  of  structure  contours .  58 

Accuracy  of  structure  contours .  58 

Carlyle  anticline  .  60 

Irishtown  anticline  or  structural  terrace .  61 

Bartelso  dome  .  61 

Highland  dome  . .  61 

Hoffman  dome  or  anticline .  63 

Nashville  anticline  .  63 

Yenedy  dome  .  63 

Darmstadt  anticline  .  63 

White  Oak  anticline .  64 

Other  anticlinal  features . 64 

Carlyle  oil  field . 66 

History  . 66 

Topography  . 68 


(43) 


44 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


Geology  .  68 

Stratigraphy  .  gg 

Chester  group .  68 

Pottsville  sandstone  .  68 

Carbondale  formation  .  69 

McLeansboro  formation  .  69 

Quaternary  deposits .  69 

Structure  .  70 

Commercial  conditions  .  70 

Product  of  the  wells .  70 

Costs  .  72 

Method  of  getting  and  handling  the  oil .  72 

Accidents  .  74 

Fire  losses  .  74 

Well  records  .  74 

Inside  Carlyle  field .  74 

Outside  Carlyle  field .  78 

ILLUSTRATIONS 

PLATE  PAGE 

II.  Map  of  southwestern  Illinois  showing  geological  structure,  and  location  of 

oil  fields,  wells,  and  coal  prospects .  46 

III.  Stratigraphic  section  from  Monroe  County  northeast  through  Carlyle  oil 

field  .  48 

IV.  Stratigraphic  section  from  Randolph  County  northeast  into  Marion  County  50 

Y.  Structure  section  A-A  from  Monroe  County  northeast  through  Carlyle  field  58 

VI.  Map  of  Carlyle  oil  field  showing  locations  of  wells  and  topography .  68 

VII.  Map  illustrating  character,  thickness,  and  vertical  position  of  the  Carlyle 

oil  sand  .  70 


THE  CARLYLE  OIL  FIELD  AND  SURROUNDING 

TERRITORY 


INTRODUCTION 

The  excitement  attending  the  discovery  of  oil  at  Carlyle  in  the 
spring  of  1911  was  unusually  intense.  In  a  very  short  time,  however, 
systematic  development  began  and  the  field  took  its  place  among  the 
producers  of  the  State.  As  development  progressed,  it  became  evident 
that  the  productive  area  had  been  outlined  more  or  less  clearly  and 
general  interest  shifted  to  the  question  of  the  existence  of  other  oil  pools 
in  the  vicinity. 

This  report  attempts  to  point  out  certain  areas  where  the  geological 
structure  is  favorable  for  the  accumulation  of  oil  and  gas  in  the  region 
surrounding  Carlyle. 

Area  Treated  in  This  Report 

The  present  report  is  preliminary  and  somewhat  general.  It  treats 
not  only  the  developed  oil  field  northwest  of  Carlyle,  but  a  large  part  of 
Clinton,  Washington,  and  St.  Clair  counties,  and  also  parts  of  Monroe 
and  Madison  counties  (see  Plate  II). 

This  district  is  on  the  whole  a  flat  prairie,  but  there  are  numerous 
hills  and  valleys  and  considerable  woods.  The  altitude  ranges  from  less 
than  400  feet  along  some  of  the  larger  streams  to  about  600  at  the  tops 
of  some  of  the  hills  in  the  central  and  northeastern  parts,  and  700  along 
the  bluffs  of  Mississippi  River.  A  large  part  of  the  surface  lies  between 
460  and  480  feet  above  sea  level.  Ivaskaskia  River  flows  through  the 
district  from  the  northeast,  receiving  from  the  north  the  waters  of 
Beaver,  Shoal,  Sugar,  Silver,  and  Richland  creeks,  and  from  the  south 
the  waters  in  Crooked,  Elkhorn,  and  Big  Muddy  creeks.  The  principal 
towns  are  Carlyle,  Nashville,  Okawville,  Mascoutah,  Trenton,  Belleville, 
Freeburg,  New  Athens,  and  Marissa. 

Acknowledgments 

The  basis  of  this  report  is  a  detailed  survey  of  areas  known  as  the 
Carlyle,  Okawville,  and  New  Athens  quadrangles,  made  by  the  writer  in 
the  summer  of  1911,  together  with  observations  in  surrounding  territory 
made  in  part  by  others  in  1911  and  preceding  summers.  The  work  was 
done  under  a  cooperative  agreement  between  the  Illinois  and  the  U.  S. 


(45) 


46 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


Geological  surveys.  The  material  gathered  by  Professor  J.  A.  Udden 
in  the  Belleville  and  Breese  quadrangles,  by  Professor  Stuart  Weller  in 
the  Waterloo  and  Kimmswick  quadrangles,  and  by  R.  S.  Blatchley  in 
the  Sandoval  oil  field1  has  been  freely  drawn  upon.  Thanks  is  due  to  the 
many  oil  operators,  contractors,  drillers,  and  others  who  freely  gave 
information,  and  particularly  to  those  who  kept  careful  logs  and  made 
other  observations  especially  for  the  Survey.  To  all  these  the  writer 
gratefully  acknowledges  his  indebtedness. 


Object  and  Methods  of  Work 


The  investigation  which  is  the  basis  of  this  report  was  not  primarily 
a  study  of  the  oil  and  gas  of  the  region,  but  was  intended  to  cover  all 
lines  of  geologic  work.  It  included  the  study  of  coal,  clay,  gravel,  lime¬ 
stone,  sandstone,  and  other  rocks.  The  results  were  in  part  of  imme¬ 
diate  value  in  the  exploitation  of  the  mineral  resources  of  the  region, 
and  in  part  purely  scientific,  having  only  an  indirect  economic  bearing. 
Most  of  the  observations  were  made  on  outcrops,  surface  features,  and 


wells  in  the  process  of  being  drilled,  but  much  information  was  obtained 
in  the  form  of  records  of  wells  drilled  both  during  and  before  the  sum¬ 
mer  of  1911.  In  the  producing  oil  territory  the  writer  was  able  to  visit 
most  of  the  wells  several  times  during  the  course  of  drilling  and  thus 
obtain  first-hand  knowledge  of  many  of  the  strata  being  penetrated. 

In  this  report  the  method  of  treatment  will  be  first  to  describe  the 
rocks  of  the  entire  region  in  general,  and  then  those  of  the  Carlyle  oil 
field  in  particular,  with  the  oil  and  gas  that  they  contain. 


Oil  and  Gas  Prospecting 

At  first  thought  it  would  seem  to  be  very  difficult  to  work  out  the 
principles  which  govern  the  accumulation  of  oil  and  gas  far  below  the 
surface.  Indeed,  after  much  careful  observation  many  oil  operators  are 
onlv  the  more  firmly  convinced  that  no  one  before  prospecting  can  tell 
anything  about  where  these  valuable  resources  exist.  There  is  a  com¬ 
mon  expression  that  “the  drill  only  will  tell  the  story.”  Many,  if  not 
most,  men,  when  they  begin  to  study  the  problem  try  to  find  something 
of  significance  in  surface  features.  One,  from  his  more  or  less  limited 
experience,  will  say  that  valley  bottoms  are  the  best  places  to  prospect ; 
another,  having  had  experience  in  a  different  district,  will  say  that  hill¬ 
tops  are  best,  and  a  third  conceives  that  a  certain  peculiar  arrangement 
of  hills  and  valleys  is  most  favorable.  The  geologist  in  Illinois  can  see 
no  connection  between  surface  features  and  oil  and  gas  pools  except  in 
the  obscure  way  that  the  “lay”  of  the  rocks  has  affected  the  surface 

miatchley,  R.  S.,  Illinois  oil  resources:  111.  State  Geol.  Survey  Bull.  16,  pp.  42-176,  1910. 


r«  a- 


— — 


&\ 


V 


r  x  s7 


%* •  ‘  ■  ‘f- ,  '  • 

1  v  v-v.-  :  . 

Si  V 

§  .• 

J-  /  J-' 

/.,  •'# 

a  •  f  ;# 

*  *  *  .  :.• :,  :•  j 

.  »  -  •  - 


ILLINOIS  STATE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY- 


BULL  NO.  20.  PLATE 


LIST  OF  WELLS 

1 

Smith 

38 

Koch 

2 

Munton 

39 

Holthaus 

3 

Highland 

40 

Walker 

4 

reek 

41 

Johnson 

5 

McQuade 

42 

Schlarman 

6 

Michel 

43 

Dunn 

7 

Petermegcr 

44 

Kuesler 

8 

Huey  ( Seiffert ) 

43 

Germantown 

9 

Dumstorf 

46 

Verrell 

10 

Bechtold 

47 

Suhl 

11 

Beckemeyer 

48 

Sherman 

12 

Mahlandt 

49 

Schrader 

13 

liudolph 

50 

Heimann 

14 

Lemuel 

51 

Gelling 

15 

Deter 

52 

Welhnghaff 

ie 

Zieren 

53 

Herman 

17 

Morelock 

54 

Pastel 

181 

Diekempter 

55 

Postel 

19 

Koch 

56 

Okawville 

20 

Murphy 

57 

Dix 

21 

Bond 

58 

Reichert 

22 

Sautman 

59 

Add  laitl  e 

23 

Riei nun 

60 

Daub 

24 

Gardes 

61 

Grossman 

25 

Lauz 

62 

Daab 

26 

Kellerman 

63 

Daesch 

27 

Wilkins 

64 

Klingler 

28 

Walker 

65 

Keim 

29 

Koch 

66 

Robinson 

30 

(Coal  prospect) 

67 

Thompson 

31 

Thomas 

68 

Finke 

32 

Morelock 

69 

Hergenrueder 

33 

Beckemeyer 

70 

Smith 

34 

Rieman 

71 

Finke 

35 

Sehhffly 

72 

Meek 

36 

SchUtUly 

73 

Stevenson 

37 

Herzog 

74 

Morelock 

76 

Shatter  dc  Smathers 

75 

Twiss 

77 

Harris 

LEGEND 


Dry  well 
Show  of  oil 
Oil  field 


Altitude  of  Herrin 
coal  (No. 6) 


County  line 


e*^**^*  County  line'following  river 

_  Township  line 

■'  Outcrop  of  Herrin  coal 


-  Contours  on  Herrin/ 
coal  inside  of  outcrop 

—  Fault  lines 

Structure  lection 


Contours  on  Herrin 
coal  outside  of  outcrop 

Line  of  contact  of  Mississippian 
and  Pennsylvanian  systems 


GEOLOGICAL  MAP 

PART  OF 

SOUTHWESTERN  ILLINOIS 

PREPARED  BY 

U.  S.  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 

A, -.LI  I  HE 

STATE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 

IN  CO  OPERATION 

1912 

Scale  of  Miles. 


12 


18 


Drawn  by  A. It -Alger 


Map  of  southwestern  Illinois  showing  geologic  structure  and  location  of  oil  fields,  wells,  and  coal  prospecta. 


1 


da  .  b'H-'  /  }0  ■  V 

•  \  .  \ 


ILLINOIS  STATE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 


BULL..  NO.  20,  PLATE  HI. 


* 

Ct 

CO 

$ 

3 


VERTICAL  scale 

FEET 

O 


200 


400 


600 


800 


/OOP 


Stratigraphic  section  from  Monroe 


county  northeast  through  Carlyle  oil  field.  Records  adjusted  to  Herrin  coal  (No.  6)  regardless  of  surface  elevations. 


CARLYLE  OIL  FIELD 


47 


relief.  The  bed  rock  in  the  Illinois  oil  fields  is  covered  by  a  mantle  of 
glacial  drift,  which  commonly  conceals  the  structure  of  the  underlying 
strata. 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  REGION 
Stratigraphy 


GENERAL  DISCUSSION 


Stratigraphy  is  a  description  of  the  layers  of  rock,  including  their 
order  and  relative  positions.  In  Clinton,  Washington,  and  St.  Clair 
counties,  and  adjacent  territory,  all  the  known  materials  of  the  earth 
lying  within  three  thousand  or  more  feet  from  the  surface  are  of  secli- 
mentary  origin.  They  were  once  either  in  the  form  of  particles  or 
else  dissolved  in  water,  and  they  were  all  transported  and  deposited  in 
their  present  position  by  water,  or  wind,  or  ice. 

Most,  if  not  all,  of  the  limestones  of  the  region  were  once  limy  muds 
such  as  are  found  on  many  parts  of  the  ocean  bottom  today.  In  them 
were  buried  the  shells  of  animals  that  lived  in  the  sea  at  the  time.  The 
resulting  layers  of  limestone  with  marine  fossils  show  that  in  ages  gone 
by  southern  Illinois  lay  beneath  the  sea. 

The  shales  and  clays  were  once  ordinary  muds — some  of  them  depos¬ 
ited  on  the  ocean  bottom  and  some  of  them  on  land — for  the  region 
was  not  covered  by  sea  water  continuously.  The  marine  mud  consisted 
of  fine  sediment  delivered  to  the  sea  by  rivers  from  some  land  area  and 
by  waves  which  beat  against  the  shore,  just  as  sediment  is  being  carried 
into  the  sea  at  the  present  time.  In  the  sea  water  it  slowly  settled  to 
the  bottom  and  formed  layers  of  more  or  less  uniform  thickness.  The  sea 
was  then,  as  it  is  now,  inhabited  by  animals  and  plants.  Almost  all  of 
the  plant  and  most  of  the  animal  matter  decayed  without  leaving  any 
impression  on  the  bottom,  but  now  and  then  conditions  were  such  that 
hard  parts,  such  as  shells,  when  buried  in  the  mud,  left  very  definite 
impressions.  We  find  these  impressions  or  remains  today  and  call  them 


fossils. 

Some  of  the  shale  and  clay  having  no  marine  fossils  may  have  been 
spread  out  on  coastal  plains  a  little  above  the  level  of  the  sea;  some  of  it 
certainly  was,  for  it  contains  impressions  of  land  plants  and  animals. 

The  sandstone  was  once  sand  and  was  deposited  in  sea  water,  on  land 
in  lakes,  or  possibly  by  wind,  for  sand  is  carried  and  deposited  in  all 
of  these  ways;  and  since,  as  a  rule,  sand  is  poor  material  to  receive  and 
preserve  impressions  of  plant  and  animal  remains,  and  since  other  thor¬ 
oughly  reliable  ways  for  distinguishing  sea  from  land  deposits  have  not 
yet  been  devised,  it  is  not  always  possible  to  state  what  the  origin  of 
each  of  the  sandstones  has  been. 


48 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


Coal  was  formed  in  extensive  marshes  very  near  sea  level.  It  con¬ 
sists  of  more  or  less  disintegrated  plant  matter.  Living  plants  are  com¬ 
posed  of  water  and  many  liquid  and  solid  carbohydrates,  resins,  waxes, 
and  other  materials.  Coal  is  made  up  of  the  same  materials,  except 
that  most  of  the  water  and  many  of  the  products  of  the  chemical  trans¬ 
formation  or  decomposition  of  some  of  these  materials  have  been  pressed 
out. 

The  rocks  of  the  earth  form  naturally  several  systems,  each  of  which 
represents  a  long  period  of  time — several  millions  of  years.  Not  all  of 
these  systems  are  represented  in  the  region  under  discussion  (see  Plates 
III  and  IV).  The  oldest  definitely  known  to  be  present  is  the  Ordo¬ 
vician,  but  this  is  no  doubt  underlain  by  Cambrian  and  still  older  rocks. 
The  Silurian  and  Devonian,  which  lie  above  the  Ordovician  and  else¬ 
where  include  strata  thousands  of  feet  in  thickness,  are  thin  in  this  area, 
and  it  is  possible  that  the  Silurian  may  be  absent.  Above  the  Devonian 
lies  the  Carboniferous  system,  which  includes  everything  from  the  bottom 
of  the  Mississippian  limestones  to  the  uppermost  hard  rocks  of  the 
region.  The  age  of  the  Carboniferous  dates  back  about  halfway  in 
geologic  time.  Four  systems  above  the  Carboniferous  are  lacking  and 
the  only  remaining  one  represented  is  the  Quaternary  to  which  belong 
the  clay,  sand,  and  gravel  lying  upon  the  shale,  sandstone,  and  lime¬ 
stone  of  the  Carboniferous  system  and  forming  the  surface  of  all  of  this 
region. 

The  various  layers  of  rock  are  described  in  order  beginning  at  the 
bottom. 

ROCKS  OLDER  THAN  CARBONIFEROUS 

In  the  region  under  discussion  the  Cambrian  system  lies  so  far 
beneath  the  surface  that  it  has  not  been  reached  by  the  deepest  wells. 
Judging  by  its  character  in  other  areas  where  it  is  known,  it  is  probably 
a  great  sandstone  about  a  thousand  feet  thick  which  is  called  the  Pots¬ 
dam.  This  rock  is  persistent  and  probably  underlies  all  of  southwestern 
Illinois. 

The  Ordovician  system  presumably  comprises  four  principal 
divisions.  The  lowermost  one  does  not  outcrop  and  has  not  been  reached 
in  any  of  the  deep  wells.  It  is  a  magnesian  limestone  probably  over 
400  feet  thick  and  has  been  called  the  Lower  Magnesian  limestone  series 
or  Prairie  du  Chien  group. 

The  second  division  is  the  St.  Peter  sandstone.  To  the  north  where 
the  rock  is  well  exposed  it  is  100  feet  or  more  in  thickness  and  consists 
of  well-rounded  grains  of  sand. 

Above  the  St.  Peter  is  several  hundred  feet  of  rock  which  is  pre¬ 
dominantly  dolomite,  but  includes  some  limestone  and  a  little  shale 


— - -  - - — - -  — ■  ■  M 


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ILLINOIS  STATE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 


BULL  NO.  10.  PLATE  II. 


R.IO  W.  R.9  W. 


T.3 


T.2 


T.  1 1 


T.l 


T.2  S. 


T.3  S 


T.4  S. 


T.5  S. 


LIST  OF  WELLS 

1 

Smith 

38 

Koch 

2 

M  unton 

39 

Holthaus 

3 

Highland 

40 

Walker 

4 

Peek 

41 

Johnson 

3 

Me  Quad? 

42 

Sc  h  la  nn  an 

6 

Michel 

43 

Dunn 

7 

Petermeycr 

44 

Kuester 

8 

Euey  (Stiff ert) 

45 

Germantown 

9 

Dumstorf 

46 

Verrell 

10 

Bechtold 

47 

Sold 

11 

Beckemeyer 

48 

Sherman 

u> 

Mahlandt 

49 

Schrader 

13 

Rudolph 

50 

Heimann 

14 

Lemuel 

51 

Gelling 

15 

Dctei' 

52 

Wellinghoff 

16 

Zieren 

53 

Herman 

17 

Morelock 

54 

Postel 

18 

Diekempter 

55 

Postel 

19 

Koch 

56 

Okawville 

20 

Murphy 

57 

Dix 

21 

Bond 

58 

Reichert 

22 

Sautman 

59 

Addicnlle 

23 

Rieman 

60 

Daub 

24 

Gardes 

61 

Grossman 

25 

Laux 

62 

Daah 

26 

Kellerman 

63 

Duesch 

27 

Wilkins 

64 

Klingler 

28 

Walker 

65 

Kem 

29 

Koch 

66 

Robinson 

30 

(Coal  prospect) 

67 

Thompson 

31 

Thomas 

68 

Finke 

32 

Morelock 

69 

Hergenroeder 

33 

Beckemeyer 

70 

Smith 

34 

Rieman 

71 

Finke 

35 

Schlaffly 

72 

Meek 

36 

Soldo  f fly 

73 

Stevenson 

37 

Herzog 

74 

Morelock 

76 

Shaffer  dc  Smothers 

75 

T wiss 

77 

Harris 

LEGEND 


Dry  well 
Show  of  oil 
OU  field 


c  358  Altitude  of  Herrin 
co»I  (No. 6) 

Contours  on  Herrin/ 
coal  inside  of  outcrop 

- Fault  lines 

_ Structure  section 


County  line 

County  line' following  river 
Township  line 
Outcrop  of  Herrin  coal 


Contours  on  Herrin 
coal  outside  of  outcrop 

Line  of  contact  of  Mississippian 
and  Pennsylvanian  systems 


GEOLOGICAL  MAP 

PART  OF 

SOUTHWESTERN  ILLINOIS 

PREPARED  BY 

U.  S.  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 

AND  THE 

STATE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 

IN  CO-OPERATION 

1912 


Scale  of  Miles. 


0  1  2 


12 


Drawn  by  A.R.Alyer 


Map  of  southwestern  Illinois  showing  geologic  structure  and  location  of  oil  fields,  wells,  and  coal  prospects. 


CARLYLE  OIL  FIELD 


49 


particularly  in  the  lowermost  part.  This  rock  is  frequently  referred  to 
as  the  Galena-Trenton  limestone  because  it  seems  to  be,  in  part  at  least, 
equivalent  to  the  Trenton  limestone  of  New  York  and  other  states,  and 
in  part  to  the  Galena  dolomite  of  northwestern  Illinois,  the  relations  of 
these  formations  not  yet  having  been  satisfactorily  worked  out.  The 
exact  thickness  of  these  rocks  in  Clinton,  Washington,  and  St.  Clair 
counties  is  not  known.  Only  the  uppermost  part  is  exposed  and  that 
is  in  the  river  bluff  at  Valmeyer  in  Monroe  County.  It  is  possible  that 
over  400  feet  are  assignable  to  this  division  of  the  Ordovician. 

The  next  beds  are  of  Cincinnatian  (Upper  Ordovician)  age  and  are 
more  or  less  shaly.  These,  like  the  underlying  beds,  have  not  yet  been 
identified  with  certainty  because  the  well  records  are  not  detailed  enough 
to  give  identification  characteristics;  but  the  rocks  are  probably  present 
under  the  entire  district,  and  if  specimens  containing  fossils  could  be 
obtained,  identification  would  be  easy. 

The  Silurian  system  which  includes  the  Niagaran  group  (the  basal 
formation  of  which,  in  New  York  and  other  eastern  states  is  the  Clinton) 
is  probably  thin,  if  present  at  all,  in  the  area  under  consideration. 

The  Devonian  system  for  the  most  part  is  also  difficult  to  identify 
from  ordinary  well  records,  but  a  hard  black  shale  belonging  in  the 
uppermost  part  of  the  Devonian  seems  to  be  representative  of  the  system. 
It  is  found  in  some  of  the  deep  borings,  particularly  those  on  the  Peter- 
meyer  and  Herzog  farms  near  Carlyle,  records  of  which  are  given  below. 
Older  Devonian  strata  probably  underlie  this  shale  and  consist  of  lime¬ 
stone  and  sandstone  as  in  Jackson  and  other  counties. 

The  following  records  are  of  wells  which  have  reached  a  part  of  the 
rocks  described  thus  far  (see  also  Plates  III  and  IV). 


Well  No.  1,  on  Hergenroeder  farm 

Location — Sec.  20,  T.  2  S.,  R.  9  W. 

Altitude — 560  feet. 


Description  of  Strata 


Dark  sand  . 

Yellow  lime . 

Dark  shale . 

White  lime  . 

Gray  lime  . 

White  lime  . 

Red  rock  . 

Limestone  . 

Flinty  lime . 

Sandy  lime  . 

Red  rock  . 

White  lime  . 

White  break  shale 


1  hick  ness 

Depth 

Feet 

Feet 

50 

50 

320 

370 

45 

415 

130 

545 

70 

615 

35 

650 

10 

660 

10 

670 

40 

710 

25 

735 

60 

795 

170 

8  65 

105 

970 

50 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


Well  No.  1  on  Hergenroeder  farm — Concluded 


Description  of  Strata 


Sand  (oil)  . 

Shale  . 

Gray  lime  . 

Limestone,  soft . 

Brown  lime,  hard . 

Gray  lime  . 

White  flinty  lime . 

Gray  lime . 

Dark  lime  . 

Gray  lime . 

Light  gray  lime . 

Gray  lime . 

Gray  lime  . 

Water  sand . 

Sand  . 

Sandy  lime  . 

White  sandy  lime . 

%> 

Limestone  . 

Break,  ‘ 1  slate  ’  *  . 

White  lime  . . 

Gray  sandy  lime . 

Sandy  lime  . 

White  sand . 

White  lime  . 

Oil  sand  (oil)  . 

White  lime  . 

Water  sand  . 

White  4  ‘  slate  ”  . 

White  lime  . 

Break,  ‘  ‘  slate  ”  . 

Sandy  lime  . 

Brown  lime  . 

White  lime  . 

White  sand  (some  water) 

White  lime  . 

Break,  1 1  slate  ”  . 

White  sand  . , 

White  lime  (mostly) 
Coarse  white  broken  lime 

Sandy  lime  . . 

Water  sand,  hard . 

Broken  sandy  lime . . 

White  lime  . 

Sandy  lime  . 

Dark  brown  lime . 

White  salt  sand  . 

White  lime  . 

Light  brown  sand . 

Light  brown  sand  . 

Light  brown  sand . 


lickness 

Depth 

Feet 

Feet 

2 

972 

8 

9S0 

15 

995 

100 

1,095 

45 

1,140 

40 

1,160 

20 

1,200 

20 

1,220 

40 

1,260 

60 

1,320 

80 

1,400 

30 

1,430 

60 

1,490 

15 

1,505 

107 

1,612 

28 

1,640 

10 

1,650 

10 

1,660 

2 

1,662 

3 

1,665 

3 

1,668 

10 

1,678 

5 

1,683 

17 

1,700 

12 

1,712 

8 

1,720 

5 

1,725 

5 

1,730 

40 

1,770 

5 

1,775 

10 

1,785 

15 

1,800 

40 

1,840 

10 

1,850 

50 

1,900 

5 

1,905 

10 

1,915 

85 

2,000 

10 

2,010 

10 

2,020 

10 

2,030 

40 

2,070 

30 

2,100 

10 

2,110 

10 

2,120 

12 

2,132 

26 

2.158 

7 

2,165 

45 

2,210 

38 

2,248 

p£  os  ..jciue 


j*.>:  lAjiTjiav 


T3B* 


DO£ 


PENNSYLVANIAN 


ILLINOIS  STATE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


BULL.  NO.  20,  PLATE  IV. 

4 


VERTICAL  SCALE 

FEET 
O 


Salt  ir atrr 


Salt  voter 


200 


400 


600 


800 


IOOO 


Stratigraphic  section  from  Randolph  county  northeast  into  Marion  county.  Reco  rds  ldjusted  to  Herrin  coal  (No.  6)  regardless  of  surface  elevations. 


CARLYLE  OIL  FIELD 


51 


Well  No.  1,  P.  H.  Postel  Milling  Company 1 

Location — At  Mascoutah,  sec.  32,  T.  1  N.,  R.  6  W. 

Altitude — 420  feet  (estimated). 

Description  of  Strata  Thickness  Depth 

Feet  Feet 

Loess  . 30  30 

Quicksand  .  5  35 

Sand,  white  . 5  40 

Sand,  gravel  and  other  drift .  64  104 

Limestone  .  8  112 

Shale,  hard,  coaly .  30  142 

Limestone  .  3  145 

Coal  (No.  6)  .  6  151 

Shale  . 15  166 

“Soapstone”  .  10  176 

Shale  .  25  201 

Coal  . 5  206 

Shale,  white  .  50  256 

Shale,  blue  .  40  296 

Shale,  white  .  45  341 

Red  rock  .  45  386 

Shale  .  35  421 

Shale  “cave”  .  113  544 

Limestone  . 5  549 

Sandstone  .  45  584 

Shale  .  25  609 

Limestone  .  20  629 

Red  rock,  probably  a  hard,  calcareous  shale .  55  684 

Shale,  white  .  20  704 

Sandstone  (Benoist  sand  of  drillers?)  .  20  724 

Limestone  .  460  1,184 

“Shale  rock”  .  420  1,604 

Limestone,  shaly .  390  1,994 

Marl,  red  .  70  2,064 

Limestone  . 126  2,190 

“Shale  rock”  .  127  2,317 

Limestone  . 449  2,766 

‘  ‘  Shale  rock  ”  .  58  2,824 

Limestone  .  10  2,834 

Shale  and  limestone  .  54  2,888 

Sandstone  and  some  shale  .  219  3,107 


Well  on  Petermeyer  farm 

Location — 7  miles  northwest  of  Carlyle,  sec.  17,  T.  3  N.,  R.  3  W. 

Altitude — 469  feet. 

Description  of  Strata  Thickness  Depth 

Feet  Feet 

Clay  .  20  20 

Gravel,  fine,  well  washed  .  38  58 

( 1  Limestone  shells  ”  .  6  64 

“Slate”  . 561  625 

Sandstone  .  20  645 

“Slate”  .  83  728 

Sandstone  .  37  765 

“Slate”  .  55  820 

Sandstone  .  56  876 


*It  is  reported  that  2  barrels  of  oil  per  day  have  been  gotten  at  times  from  this  well. 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


52 


Description  of  Strata 

“Slate”  . 

‘  ‘  Slate  ’  \  broken  . 

1 1  Limestone  shells  ”  . 

(Show  of  oil  and  gas  and  hole  full  of  salt  water  at  975  feet). 

Sandstone  . 

“Slate”  . 

Sandstone  . 

“Slate”  . 

Limestone  . 

“Slate”  . 

Limestone  . 

1 1  Slate  ’  ’  and  limestone  . 

Limestone  . 

“Slate”  . 

Limestone  . 

Shale  (“pencil  cave”)  . 

“ Slate”,  black  (Devonian?)  . 

Limestone  (salt  water)  . 


Thickness  Depth 


Feet 

Feet 

14 

890 

80 

970 

2 

972 

48 

1,020 

36 

1,056 

144 

1,200 

10 

1,210 

565 

1,775 

10 

1,785 

75 

1,860 

100 

1,960 

220 

2,180 

90 

2,270 

30 

2,300 

30 

2,330 

28 

2,358 

72 

2,430 

Well  on  Philip  Herzog  farm 

Location — 1  mile  southwest  of  Carlyle,  sec.  23,  T.  2  N.,  R.  3  W. 
Altitude — 467  feet. 


Description  of  Strata  Thickness  Depth 

Feet  Feet 

Clay  and  gravel  .  46%  4 6% 

Shale  and  sandstone  .  393%  440 

Limestone  .  5  445 

Shale  .  5  450 

Coal  .  7  457 

Shale  and  sandstone  .  343  800 

Sandstone  (salt  water)  .  50  850 

“Slate”  .  185  1,035 

Limestone  .  45  1,080 

Red  rock  .  18  1,098 

Sandstone  (salt  water)  .  30  1,128 

“Slate”  .  20  1,148 

Sandstone  (salt  water) .  91  1,239 

“Slate”  .  14  1,253 

Sandstone  .  122  1,375 

Limestone  .  610  1,985 

Shale  .  8  1,993 

Limestone  . 212  2,205 

Shale  .  155  2,360 

Shale,  black  .  30  2,390 

Shale  .  145  2,535 

Limestone,  “Niagaran”  .  25  2,560 

“Slate”  .  40  2,600 

Limestone  .  133  2,733 


It  will  be  seen  that  the  above  logs  do  not  show  great  detail.  Some  of 
the  measurements  are  doubtless  in  error,  but  it  is  believed  that  the 
records  are  sufficiently  accurate  to  give  a  good  general  idea  of  the  suc¬ 
cession  of  rocks,  especially  when  Plates  III  and  IV  are  studied. 


CARLYLE  OIL  FIELD 


53 


CARBONIFEROUS  SYSTEM 
MISSISSIPPI  AN  SERIES 

The  Mississippian  series  is  better  known  than  any  of  the  older  rocks, 
both  because  it  outcrops  extensively  in  southwestern  St.  Clair  County 
and  adjacent  territory,  and  also  because  it  has  been  penetrated  by  many 
wells.  It  consists  of  nine  distinct  divisions,  many  of  which  can  be  recog¬ 
nized  in  a  good  set  of  well  drillings,  and  all  except  the  Cypress  sand¬ 
stone,  in  which  no  fossils  have  yet  been  found,  can  be  recognized  from 
small  pieces  containing  fossils. 

The  lowest  beds  are  known  by  the  name  of  Kinderhook,  and  are 
variable  in  thickness  and  character,  but  are  probably  nowhere  over  200 
feet  thick.  The  next  higher  beds,  which  have  received  the  name  of 
Burlington  limestone,  consist  of  whitish,  crystalline,  more  or  less  flinty 
limestone,  about  the  same  in  thickness  as  the  preceding.  Overlying  the 
Burlington  is  the  Keokuk  limestone,  which  is  overlain  by  the  Warsaw 
shale.  The  combined  thickness  of  the  Keokuk  and  Warsaw  is  100  to 
150  feet.  The  next  division,  the  Spergen  (“ Salem”)  limestone,  is  light 
colored  and  about  100  feet  thick.  It  is  overlain  by  more  than  200  feet 
of  variable  limestone,  in  some  places  shaly  and  in  some  places  very 
cherty,  but  nowhere  oolitic.  This  rock  is  known  as  the  St.  Louis  lime¬ 
stone  and  is  very  much  like  the  overlying  Ste.  Genevieve  limestone, 
except  that  the  latter  is  oolitic.  The  next  division  is  the  Cypress  sand¬ 
stone,  which  appears  to  be  the  Benoist  sand  of  the  drillers,  the  lowest 
thick  persistent  sandstone  in  the  Mississippian  series.  This  rock  is 
about  100  feet  thick,  although  it  varies  locally  from  50  to  as  much  as 
200  feet.  It  is  porous,  loosely  cemented,  has  few,  if  any,  shale  partings, 
and  no  fossils.  It  is  overlain  by  a  group  of  beds  consisting  of  limestone, 
sandstone,  and  shale,  which  make  up  the  Birdsville  and  Tribune  forma¬ 
tions.1  These  include  the  producing  sand  at  Carlyle  and  several  other 
sands.  Near  Chester  these  rocks  have  been  described  by  Prof.  Stuart 
Weller.2  The  total  amount  of  limestone  varies  somewhat  from  place  to 
place,  but  is  nowhere  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  whole ;  in  many  places 
it  constitutes  less  than  one-third. 

The  following  section  represents  the  rocks  exposed  near  Chester, 
where  there  appears  to  be  more  limestone  in  the  Chester  group  than  else¬ 
where  : 

1The  Cypress  sandstone  is  included  in  the  Chester  group  by  the  United  States  Geological 
Survey;  and  some  geologists,  including  Ulrich,  refer  the  underlying  Ste.  Genevieve  limestone 
also  to  the  same  group.  The  Illinois  Survey  has  used  ‘‘Chester’’  for  the  beds  now  designated 
Birdsville  and  Tribune.  The  reader  is  referred  to  1916  report  for  revision  of  Chester  nomen¬ 
clature  and  omission  of  Birdsville,  Tribune,  and  Cypress  as  formation  names  in  this  vicinity. 

-’Weller,  Stuart,  The  geological  map  of  Illinois:  Ill.  State  Geol.  Survey  Bull.  6,  1907. 


54 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


Section  of  rocks  exposed  near  Chester ,  Illinois 


Description  of  Strata  Thickness 

Feet 

Birdsville  formation — 

Sandstone  at  Lockwood  . 100 

Limestone  . 20 

Shale,  arenaceous,  or  shaly  sandstone .  33 

Sandstone  .  10 

Shale,  arenaceous,  or  shaly  sandstone .  33 

Limestone  .  54 

Shale  .  42 

Limestone  (persistent)  . 8 

Shale  .  3G 


(In  some  places  a  bed  of  sandstone  occurs  here  with  variable 

thickness  up  to  20  feet.) 

Limestone  . 

Shale  . . . 

Tribune  limestone — 

Limestone  (quarried  at  the  Penitentiary) . 

Interval  of  uncertain  character,  lower  part  probably  shale  and  upper 

part  limestone  . 

Limestone . 

Probably  mostly  shale . 

Shale,  variegated  red  and  green . 

Not  exposed  . . . 

Limestone,  fossiliferous . ) 

Shale,  fossiliferous . \ 

Limestone,  very  fossiliferous.  .  .  ) 

Shale . . . f . 

Beds  not  observed  . 

Cypress  sandstone  . 


4 

4 

80 

20 

49 

38 

15 

5 

20 

15 

25 

134 


The  Chester  is  the  uppermost  group  of  the  Mississippian  beds  in 
this  region.  Some  drillers  have  fallen  into  the  habit  of  speaking  of  that 
part  of  the  Mississippian  series  which  lies  below  the  Cypress  sandstone 
as  the  “Mississippi  lime.”  This  expression  is  undesirable,  for  the  Mis¬ 
sissippian  series  includes  all  of  the  Chester  as  well  as  the  limestone 
formations  below. 

PENNSYLVANIAN  SERIES 


The  Pennsylvanian  series  includes  all  the  coal-bearing  beds  of  Illi- 
nois,  and  is  separated  from  the  Mississippian  by  an  uneomformity  which 
marks  a  time  when  Illinois  became  dry  land  and  remained  so  for  a  long 
period.  In  many  drill  holes  the  unconformity  is  not  noticeable,  and 
even  where  the  rocks  actually  outcrop  it  is  in  some  places  not  easy  to 
locate.  The  uppermost  Mississippian  rock  commonly  still  shows  the 
effect  of  its  exposure  to  the  weather  millions  of  years  ago,  being  soft 
and  brownish.  The  lowermost  Pennsylvanian  rock  consists  generally 
of  a  layer  of  cemented  pebbles  which  is  sometimes  noted  in  well  logs. 
It  is  difficult  to  distinguish  from  higher  beds  in  which  there  are  scat¬ 
tered  pebbles. 

Pottsville  sandstone. — The  Pottsville  sandstone  is  composed  of  sand¬ 
stone  and  shale  and  local  thin  lenses  of  coal.  It  is  commonly  known 


CARLYLE  OIL  FIELD 


00 

in  the  Carlyle  oil  field  as  the  “salt  sand.”  Near  St.  Louis  the  Potts- 
ville  is  locally  less  than  20  feet  thick  and  consists  largely  of  clay.  To 
the  east  it  thickens  to  about  160  feet  at  Carlyle,  south  of  which  it  is 
probably  still  thicker  for  it  thickens  generally  in  that  direction  and 
reaches  over  500  feet  in  Jackson  County.  It  contains  no  limestone,  but 
is  composed  of  several  beds  of  sandstone  separated  by  lenses  of  shale. 
Much  of  the  sandstone  is  very  porous,  but  some  is  almost  as  impervious 
as  shale. 

Carbondale  formation. — The  Carbondale  formation  extends  from 
the  top  of  the  Pottsville  sandstone  to  the  top  of  the  Herrin  coal  (No. 
6),1  which  is  the  main  coal  bed  of  the  region.  Usually  another  bed  of 
coal,  the  Murphysboro  (No.  2)  is  present,  forming  the  base  of  the 
formation,  and  still  another  about  equally  persistent  lies  almost  exactly 
midway  between  the  Murphysboro  and  Herrin  coals,  or  about  125  feet 
below  the  latter.  Still  other  coal  beds  are  present  in  some  places.  Shale 
constitutes  the  major  part  of  the  formation,  but  there  is  much  sandstone, 
particularly  in  the  lower  half,  and  a  few  layers  of  limestone,  particularly 
in  the  uppermost  and  lowermost  parts.  Much  of  the  shale  is  soft  and 
clay-like. 

McLeansboro  formation. —  The  McLeansboro  formation  extends 
from  the  top  of  the  Herrin  coal  (No.  6)  to  the  highest  hard  rocks  of  the 
region,  or  somewhat  above  the  limestone  upon  which  drive  pipe  is  com¬ 
monly  set  in  the  Carlyle  oil  field.  The  Herrin  coal  is  generally  overlain 
by  shale  up  to  30  feet  thick,  but  locally  this  shale  is  absent  and  the  over- 
lying  limestone  rests  directly  on  the  coal.  The  limestone  above  the 
Herrin  coal  is  even  more  persistent  than  the  coal  itself  and  may  be 
used  in  an  important  way  to  determine  the  horizon  of  the  coal  where 
that  bed  is  absent  or  questionable.  The  limestone  contains  a  little  fossil, 
scarcely  as  large  as  a  grain  of  wheat,  which  can  be  identified  even  in 
the  ground-up  material  from  the  drill  hole.  This  limestone  and  the 
underlying  coal  are  the  most  important  key  rocks  in  the  region  for  they 
are  persistent  and  easily  recognized.  Drillers  should,  therefore,  make 
careful  measurements  to  these  beds  so  as  to  identify  properly  the  sand¬ 
stones  of  the  Chester,  some  of  which  contain  oil. 

Above  the  limestone  overlying  the  Herrin  coal  lies  more  than  300 
feet  of  clay,  shale,  and  sandstone  generally  free  from  limestone.  This 
series  of  beds  extends  to  the  limestone  which  has  been  called  Shoal 
Creek  limestone  in  the  Illinois  State  Survey  reports,  about  300  to  350 
feet  above  the  Herrin  coal.  The  remaining  beds  of  the  McLeansboro 
formation  are  mostly  soft  shale  and  sandstone. 

JThe  custom  of  using  place  names  instead  of  numbers  to  designate  the  age  of  coal  beds  is 
generally  desirable.  It  should  be  remembered,  however,  that  the  coals  vary  greatly  in  com¬ 
mercial  importance  from  place  to  place  and  that  the  use  of  the  same  geologic  name  for  coals 
of  various  districts  implies  only  contemporaneous  deposition — in  no  sense  uniform  quality. 

— Editor. 


56 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


QUATERNARY  SYSTEM 

The  Quaternary  system  includes  the  surface  sand,  clay,  and  gravel 
which,  although  it  is  many  thousands  of  years  old,  does  not  average 
more  than  one-tenth  as  old  as  the  rocks  of  the  Carboniferous  system. 
Much  of  this  surface  material  is  glacial.  It  was  brought  here  by  a 
great  ice  sheet  that  crept  down  from  Canada  bringing  with  it  stones 
from  that  country  very  unlike  the  rocks  of  Illinois  and  leaving  them 
spread  over  this  region.  Some  of  the  rock  and  dirt  wTas  deposited 
directly  by  the  ice  and  is  a  mass  of  clay  (largely  rock  flour,  ground  by 
the  glacier),  sand,  and  gravel  thoroughly  mixed  together.  There  are 
also  beds  of  sand  and  gravel  which  were  deposited  on  or  in  front  of 
the  ice.  Upon  this  gravelly  clay  there  is  generally  a  bed  of  clay  with¬ 
out  any  grit  which  was  probably  deposited  by  wind.  This  clay  covers 
the  prairie  and  the  hills  and  valley  sides,  but  the  valley  bottoms  have 
a  more  recent  deposit  laid  down  by  the  streams. 

SUMMARY  OF  GEOLOGIC  HISTORY 

The  history  recorded  in  the  rocks  shows  that  many  millions  of  years 
ago  southwestern  Illinois  lay  below  sea  level.  It  was  covered  with  salt 
water  which  was  sometimes  clear  and  sometimes  more  or  less  muddy. 
At  times  when  it  was  free  from  ordinary  mud  it  usually  had  some  par¬ 
ticles  of  lime  which  came  from  the  breaking  up  of  shells.  At  all  times  the 
solid  material  in  the  water  was  gradually  settling  to  form  layers  of 
limestone,  shale,  or  sandstone  according  to  the  kind  of  sediment.  Such 
conditions  prevailed  throughout  much  of  the  Ordovician,  Silurian, 
Devonian,  and  Carboniferous  periods  except  that  at  several  different 
times  the  surface  rose  above  sea  level  and  was  land.  This  came  about 
through  very  slow  movements  such  as  seem  to  have  affected  the  outer 
part  of  the  earth  throughout  its  history  and  may  be  in  progress  today. 
There  was  no  violent  upheaval  or  eruption,  for  such  events  are  recorded 
with  great  clearness  and  certainty  in  the  rocks  and  could  easily  be 
detected.  In  the  periods  of  emergence  there  were  times  when  deposits 
of  mud  and  sand  accumulated  on  the  land  rapidly — just  as  today  in 
favorable  situations  mud  and  sand  accumulate  on  land  as  rapidly  as 
under  water.  At  other  times  deposition  ceased  and  rain  and  streams 
washed  away  some  of  the  material  that  had  just  been  deposited.  After 
such  events,  when  deposition  was  resumed,  the  sediment  was  laid  down 
on  a  more  or  less  uneven  surface  and  the  result  is  now  an  unconformity 
in  the  rocks.  The  sea  was  not  deep  like  the  central  parts  of  the  great 
oceans  but  was  shallow  like  the  sea  margins  todav  within  a  hundred  miles 
of  land.  The  ocean  migrated  widely  and  occupied  almost  every  possible 
position.  Sometimes  southwestern  Illinois  was  possibly  hundreds  of 


CARLYLE  OIL  FIELD 


57 


miles  from  land  and  at  other  times  it  was  just  off  shore.  Sometimes 
land  was  nearer  in  one  direction  and  sometimes  in  another.  Probably 
there  were  times  when  the  water  that  covered  this  region  was  an  inland 
sea,  being  separated  from  the  open  ocean  by  a  strip  of  land.  Since 
Carboniferous  time  the  region  has  in  all  probability  been  continuously 
a  land  area  subject  to  the  wearing  and  washing  action  of  water  and 
streams.  If  any  sediment  accumulated  between  Carboniferous  and 
Quaternary  time  it  was  of  small  amount  and  has  since  been  entirely 
removed.  The  Quaternary  period  was  the  time  of  glaciation.  Within 
this  period  there  were  several  epochs  when  ice  advanced  from  the  north, 
but  only  once  did  it  reach  southern  Illinois.  This  time  it  buried  the 
former  surface  under  so  much  dirt  and  stones  that  after  the  ice  had 
melted  streams  took  new  courses,  in  some  cases  at  right  angles  to  their 
old  ones.  Indeed  the  stream  courses  have  not  been  the  same  in  any 
two  successive  geologic  periods,  for  in  the  first  place  all  stream  courses 
are  slowly  migrating,  and  in  the  second  place  every  submergence  means 
a  more  or  less  complete  filling  and  obliteration  of  the  valleys. 

Structure 

GENERAL  STRUCTURE  OF  AREA 

By  structure  is  meant  the  arrangement  and  “la y”  of  the  beds.  The 
structure  of  this  region  as  a  whole  is  monoclinal ;  that  is,  the  rocks  dip 
in  one  general  direction  (to  the  east).  Just  east  of  St.  Louis,  the 
Herrin  coal  (No.  6)  is  about  400  feet  above  sea  level,  and  it  outcrops 
along  the  Mississippi  bluffs.  (See  Plate  II.)  It  slopes  to  the  east, 
reaching  sea  level,  or  450  feet  below  the  surface,  near  Carlyle,  and 
about  100  feet  below  sea  level  at  Sandoval.  The  average  dip  is  10 
feet  to  the  mile.  The  rocks  are  highest  in  the  southwestern  part  of 
the  district  where  they  were  affected  by  an  uplift  which  would  carry 
the  Herrin  coal  at  Valmeyer  in  the  western  part  of  Monroe  County  up 
to  more  than  2,500  feet  above  sea  level,  or  more  than  1,800  feet  above 
the  present  highest  hill  tops.  In  other  words,  at  Valmeyer  there  are 
rocks  outcropping  at  the  surface  which  belong  2,000  feet  below  the 
Herrin  coal  (PI.  V). 

The  rocks  do  not  have  a  uniform  dip  to  the  east  but  are  folded  into 
irregular  shapes;  moreover  they  are  locally  broken  and  displaced.  In 
some  places  where  there  is  a  break,  the  rocks  on  one  side  have  moved 
up  several  hundred  feet  above  the  rocks  on  the  other  side,  and  no  one 
can  tell  how  much  lateral  movement  there  has  been. 

The  deformation  just  outside  the  region  treated  in  this  report  no 
doubt  affected  the  rocks  in  this  area  to  a  certain  extent.  At  least  the 


58 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


eastward  dip  described  above  is  not  regular,  but  the  folds  are  very  low 
and  can  be  worked  out  only  by  careful  measurements. 

METHOD  OF  REPRESENTING  STRUCTURE 

The  best  method  of  showing  the  exact  shape  of  any  worked  surface 
is  by  the  use  of  contour  lines,  and  the  writer  believes  that  it  would  be 
well  worth  while  for  every  oil  operator  to  become  accustomed  to  the 
use  of  the  contour  map  (see  Plate  II).  The  idea  is  simple — that  of 
drawing  lines  through  points  of  equal  altitude  on  some  particular  rock 
surface — and  the  result  shows  the  exact  shape  of  that  surface.  For 
example,  a  contour  map  of  the  surface  of  the  earth  shows  the  form  of 
hills  and  valleys ;  it  shows  not  only  where  the  slope  is  steep  and  where 
it  is  gentle;  but  also  the  degree  of  steepness  and  the  altitude  of  every 
point. 

The  same  idea  is  used  in  showing  the  structure  of  the  rocks.  A  refer¬ 
ence  layer  or  surface  is  chosen— for  example,  the  top  of  a  certain  coal 
bed.  The  altitude  and  dip  of  this  surface  are  determined  at  as  many 
points  as  possible  and  if  these  points  are  at  all  numerous,  the  altitude 
and  dip  in  the  unknown  intervening  areas  can  be  determined  with  con¬ 
siderable  accuracy  by  constructing  a  contour  map.  But  in  making  a 
structure  map  the  geologist  is  not  limited  to  data  on  the  one  layer  of 
rock  upon  which  the  map  is  based,  for  all  the  layers  of  rocks  are  approxi¬ 
mately  parallel  and  the  distance  between  the  beds  can  be  determined. 
For  example,  in  the  Carlyle  oil  field  there  is  a  bed  of  limestone  340  to 
350  feet  above  the  Herrin  coal  and  the  position  of  the  coal  can  be  esti¬ 
mated  with  fair  accuracy  from  the  position  of  the  limestone,  without 
sinking  a  hole  to  the  coal. 

USE  OF  STRUCTURE  CONTOURS 

The  structure  map  has  numerous  uses  and  none  are  more  important 
than  its  use  for  oil  and  gas  prospecting.  A  significant  fact  which 
many  oil  prospectors  have  failed  to  appreciate  is  that  the  oil  pools  of 
Illinois  are  without  exception  found  where  the  rocks  have  a  certain 
geologic  structure.  The  oil  is  found  in  areas  where  the  rocks  are 
higher  than  in  adjacent  territory  in  at  least  two  directions  and  com¬ 
monly  in  three  or  four  directions.  It  would  appear  therefore  to  be 
almost  a  waste  of  money  to  sink  prospects  in  synclines  or  places  where 
the  rocks  are  lower  than  in  surrounding  territory. 

ACCURACY  OF  STRUCTURE  CONTOURS 

The  accuracy  of  structure  contours  depends  on  three  factors :  first, 
the  accuracy  of  the  altitudes  obtained  directly;  second,  the  difference 


ILLINOIS  STATE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 


BULL.  NO.  20,  PLATE 


V-  Show  0/ Oil 

Stillwater 


Structure  section  along:  line  A — A  of  Plate  II  from  Monroe  county  northeast  through  Carlyle  oil  field. 


CARLYLE  OIL  FIELD 


59 


between  the  actual  and  the  assumed  distance  to  the  key  rock;  third,  the 
number  and  distribution  of  points  on  the  key  rock  whose  altitudes  have 
been  determined. 

(1)  In  the  area  under  consideration,  good  surface  maps  have  been 
published  and  there  are  numerous  bench  marks  showing  exact  elevations 
above  sea.  From  these,  level  lines  were  run  to  all  points  where  a 
recognizable  stratum  could  be  located  in  natural  outcrop  or  artificial 
excavation.  In  many  wells  the  drillers  have  not  determined  the  depth 
of  the  coal  with  exactness,  but  in  such  cases  the  uncertainty  has  been 
reduced  by  checking  the  reported  position  of  the  coal  with  the  deter¬ 
mined  positions  of  other  strata  at  or  near  the  same  place. 

(2)  With  regard  to  the  second  factor  mentioned  above,  the  strata 
are  not  exactly  parallel,  or,  in  other  words,  the  distance  between  any 
two  layers  is  not  the  same  at  all  points.  The  variation  is  not  great, 
particularly  in  a  small  district,  and  where  the  distance  between  the 
layers  of  rock  is  only  a  few  hundred  feet.  In  a  single  township  the 
distance  between  any  two  strata  is  not  known  to  vary  more  than  15  or 
20  feet,  and  in  general  this  distance  has  been  measured  in  at  least  one 
place  in  every  township.  The  possible  error  arising  in  this  way  is 
therefore  believed  to  be  small ;  not  more  than  20  feet  at  most  and  that  in 
only  a  few  places. 

(3)  The  third  factor  is  most  important  for,  although  in  some  dis¬ 
tricts  there  are  numerous  and  well-distributed  points  at  which  the  alti¬ 
tudes  of  recognizable  strata  have  been  determined,  in  many  parts  of  the 
area  such  information  is  scarce  because  outcrops  are  few  or  wanting  and 
no  wells,  test  holes,  or  coal  shafts  have  been  sunk  to  a  bed  that  can  be 
recognized.  The  region  in  which  information  is  most  abundant  is,  of 
course,  the  Carlyle  oil  field.  Elsewhere  the  lay  of  the  rocks  is  best  known 
where  coal  mines  are  most  abundant. 

In  some  places  surface  features  can  be  used  to  a  certain  extent  in 
working  out  the  structure.  The  most  conspicuous  example  is  the  uplift 
of  the  rocks  in  the  western  part  of  the  area,  resulting  in  higher  country 
near  the  Mississippi  than  at  some  distance  away.  There  are  other  areas 
where  hard  layers  of  rock  have  had  an  influence  on  the  surface,  but  the 
effect  is  generally  obscure  because  of  the  thick  mantle  of  gravel  and  clay 
which  was  deposited  over  this  region  by  the  ice. 

Allowing  for  the  possible  errors  noted  above,  it  may  be  assumed  that 
the  contour  lines  are  accurate  within  one-half  a  contour  interval,  or 
25  feet,  but  that  locally  there  may  be  a  greater  error. 

The  prominent  structural  features  of  the  region  under  discussion 
(PL  II)  are  several  more  or  less  isolated  domes,  some  of  which  are 


60 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


longer  in  one  direction  than  in  another  and  hence  are  better  described 
by  the  word  anticline.1 


CARLYLE  ANTICLINE 

The  Carlyle  anticline  or  elongated  dome  is  a  very  low  arch,  the  cen¬ 
tral  line  of  which  extends  from  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Kailroad  about 
midway  between  Carlyle  and  Beckemeyer  a  little  east  of  north  for  three 
or  four  miles.  The  highest  part  is  near  the  middle  where  the  rocks  are 
only  a  little  higher  than  the}T  are  to  the  north.  They  are,  however, 
higher  than  the  same  beds  to  the  east,  south,  or  west  and  this  dip  of 
the  rocks  in  three  directions  away  from  the  center  of  the  dome  seems 
to  be  the  most  important  fact  in  the  development  of  an  oil  pool. 

As  every  oil  pool  in  Illinois  is  located  on  an  upward  bend  in  the 
rocks  it  would  seem  well  worth  while  in  prospecting  to  search  for  such 
localities. 

At  Carlyle  and  Beckemeyer  and  for  some  distance  south  and  south¬ 
west  the  Herrin  coal  (No.  6)  is  15  or  20  feet  above  the  sea;  to  the 
east  and  southeast  it  dips  to  50  or  60  feet  below  sea  level  in  the  vicinity 
of  Huey.  Northwest  from  Carlyle  the  coal  rises  toward  the  center  of 
the  field  where  it  is  50  to  60  feet  above  the  sea.  West  from  Carlyle  the 
coal  dips  gently  again  almost  to  sea  level,  but  northwest  it  does  not 
sink  so  low,  and  it  is  not  known  to  lie  within  25  feet  of  sea  level  any¬ 
where  northwest  of  the  pool.  To  the  north  and  northeast,  however,  it 
descends  to  an  altitude  of  15  to  30  feet  above  sea  in  a  distance  of  2 
or  3  miles. 

It  may  seem  remarkable,  but  it  is  a  fact  that  the  shape  of  the  Carlyle 
oil  pool  does  not  correspond  to  the  shape  of  the  anticline  as  it  is  devel¬ 
oped  in  the  coal-bearing  rock.  The  place  where  the  coal  is  highest  is 
well  to  the  northwest  of  the  center  of  the  pool;  but  when  the  variable 
thickness  of  the  strata  is  remembered,  the  surprising  fact  is  that  the 
outline  of  the  dome  in  the  coal-bearing  rocks  is  so  near  the  outline  of 
the  pool.  Layers  of  sandstone  in  particular  vary  greatly  in  thickness, 
and  it  is  surprising  that  when  many  such  layers  are  piled  one  on  top 
of  another  the  uppermost  is  so  nearly  parallel  to  the  lowest. 

Another  important  fact  is  that  the  structure  of  the  rocks  has  no 
direct  effect  on  the  surface  configuration.  The  fold  is  so  slight  and 
the  processes  which  modify  the  surface  (stream  erosion,  glaciation,  and 

xAn  anticline,  it  should  be  remembered,  is  an  upward  bend  or  wrinkle  in  the  rocks.  The 
upbend  to  which  the  word  is  generally  applied  has  a  much  greater  length  than  breadth.  An 
upward  bend  having  nearly  equal  length  and  breadth  is  more  concisely  described  by  the  term 
dome. 


CARLYLE  OIL  FIELD 


61 


others)  have  been  so  active  that  it  requires  a  keen  eye  to  pick  out  any 
surface  features  that  are  even  indirectly  controlled  by  the  lay  of  the 
rocks. 

IRISHTOWN  ANTICLINE  OR  STRUCTURAL  TERRACE 

In  the  central  part  of  Irishtown  Township,  5  to  7  miles  north  and  2 
to  3  miles  east  of  Carlyle,  the  coal  lies  50  to  70  feet  above  sea.  The  de¬ 
tails  of  the  structure  in  this  vicinity  are  not  known  for  there  are  few 
outcrops  and  artificial  excavations  which  show  recognizable  strata,  but 
the  coal  is  certainly  higher  than  it  is  midway  between  this  district  and 
the  Carlyle  anticline,  and  it  is  considerably  higher  than  the  same  bed  a 
few  miles  to  the  east.  Apparently  there  is  a  low  anticline  here  which 
plunges  and  fades  out  to  the  east.  Two  wells  drilled  here  in  the  fall 
of  1911  obtained  no  showing  of  oil.  The  highest  known  point  in  the 
coal  in  Irishtown  Township  is  at  the  Ohio  Oil  Company’s  well  on  the 
Michel  farm  near  the  middle  of  sec.  17,  but  as  the  sands  and  the  coal 
are  not  absolutely  parallel  the  highest  point  in  the  sands  may  be  a  mile 
or  two  away  from  the  middle  of  sec.  17. 

BARTELSO  DOME 

There  is  fairly  good  evidence  of  a  low  dome  one  to  two  and  a  half 
miles  north  and  a  little  east  of  Bartelso.  Five  wells  have  been  sunk  in 
the  vicinity  of  Bartelso,  and  both  the  coal  and  the  sands  seem  to  be 
rising  toward  a  point  a  short  distance  to  the  northeast  of  the  town  and 
indications  of  oil  have  been  found.  Four  to  seven  miles  north  and 
northeast  of  Bartelso  the  strata  are  low  and  probably  barren  of  oil ;  but 
between  this  place  and  the  town  there  is  possibility  of  a  pool. 

HIGHLAND  DOME 

At  Highland  the  rocks  are  25  to  50  feet  higher  than  they  are  two  or 
three  miles  to  the  east,  south,  or  west,  the  coal  in  the  northwest  part 
of  town  being  230  feet  above  sea;  but  a  test  hole  1,089  feet  deep  was 
sunk  not  far  from  the  center  of  the  dome  in  1889  and  no  showing  of 
oil  or  gas  was  found.  It,  therefore,  seems  probable  that  this  dome,  like 
some  others,  contains  no  oil  or  gas.  The  record  of  the  test  is  as  follows: 


62 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


Record  of  test  hole  at  Highland 


Description  of  Strata 


Drift . 

Limestone . 

Shale,  black . 

Clay . 

Clay,  shale . 

Shale,  black . 

Limestone,  brown . 

Shale . 

Sandstone  (water) . 

Clav,  shale,  blue . 

Clay . 

Red  rock . . 

Limestone . 

Shale . 

Sandstone,  dry . 

Shale . 

Sandstone,  dry . 

Shale . 

Sandstone  (water) . 

Shale . 

Sandstone  (water) . 

Shale,  black  . 

Sandstone,  dry . 

Shale,  black . 

Coal . 

Clay . 

Sandstone,  ‘  ‘  shell  ’ . 

Coal . 

Clay . 

Shale,  black . 

Sandstone  (water) . 

Shale,  black . 

Shale . 

Limestone . 

Shale . .* . 

Sandstone  (water) . 

Shale . 

Limestone,  brown . 

Shale . 

Limestone . 

Sandstone,  red . 

Shale,  red . 

Sandstone  (water) . 

Shale . 

Sandstone,  brown . 

Red  rock . 

Shale . 

Sandstone,  brown  (water) 

Shale,  sandy  green . 

Sandstone,  green . 

Sandstone,  white  (water) 
Limestone . 


Thickness 


Depth 


Ft. 

In. 

Ft. 

In. 

66 

66 

4 

70 

3 

73 

7 

80 

16 

96 

6 

102 

28 

130 

55 

185 

73 

258 

10 

268 

10 

278 

2 

280 

22 

302 

5 

307 

12 

319 

12 

331 

6 

337 

20 

357 

39 

396 

20 

416 

40 

456 

6 

462 

6 

468 

35 

503 

1 

10 

504 

10 

10 

514 

10 

5 

519 

10 

1 

2 

521 

4 

6 

525 

6 

54 

6 

580 

25 

605 

25 

630 

75 

705 

4 

709 

30 

739 

29 

768 

27 

795 

6 

801 

4 

805 

8 

813 

2 

815 

4 

819 

8 

827 

3 

830 

20 

850 

12 

862 

6 

868 

19 

887 

15 

902 

18 

920 

92 

1,012 

77 

1,089 

CARLYLE  OIL  FIELD 


63 


HOFFMAN  DOME  OR  ANTICLINE 

At  Hoffman,  about  11  miles  east  of  Bartelso,  the  strata  are  high,  the 
coal  according  to  a  diamond  drill  record  being  37  feet  above  sea ;  whereas 
a  very  few  miles  to  the  northwest,  north,  and  east,  it  is  below  sea  level. 
It  may  dip  to  the  south  also,  and  if  so  the  structural  feature  is  a  dome ; 
otherwise  it  is  an  anticline,  which  plunges  to  the  northeast.  In  either 
case  it  is  well  worth  a  test  for  oil. 

The  structure  between  Hoffman  and  Bartelso  is  not  known.  Most 
likely  there  is  a  shallow  syncline,  but  there  is  a  possibility  of  a  small  arch. 

NASHVILLE  ANTICLINE 

At  Nashville  the  strata  have  a  noticeable  rise  to  the  west,  but  a  mile 
north  of  Addieville  they  seem  to  be  50  feet  lower.  From  what  is  known 
of  the  lay  of  the  rocks  there  appears  to  be  a  broad,  but  fairly  steep-sided, 
anticline  plunging  slightly  to  the  northeast  but  perhaps  extending  with¬ 
out  a  break  northeast  to  the  Hoffman  dome.  There  is  some  indication 
that  the  anticline  is  double  crested,  one  crest  being  southeast  and  one 
northwest  of  Nashville.  To  the  southwest  the  anticline  becomes  less 
pronounced.  At  Oakdale  it  appears  to  be  broad  and  low,  though  farther 
to  the  southwest  toward  the  Sparta  field  it  may  become  higher  and 
steeper.  It  may  be,  however,  that  this  uplift  is  not  an  anticline  but  a 
dome.  If  so  its  position  is  2  to  4  miles  west  of  Nashville. 

VENEDY  DOME 

In  a  deep  well  near  the  old  town  of  Venedy  about  6  miles  southwest 
of  Okawville  the  coal  is  reported  to  lie  at  a  depth  of  212  feet,  or  250  feet 
above  sea.  This  is  higher  than  it  lies  in  surrounding  territory  but  the 
details  of  this  dome  or  anticline  are  not  yet  known. 

DARMSTADT  ANTICLINE 

The  Darmstadt  anticline  has  a  northeast-southwest  trend,  and  is 
somewhat  irregular.  It  probably  extends  northeast  to  the  Venedy  uplift, 
beyond  which  it  appears  to  be  double  crested,  one  crest  running  nearly 
north  to  New  Memphis,  and  the  other  northeast  to  Okawville.  The 
anticline  seems  to  be  highest  near  Darmstadt,  where  the  coal  bed  reaches 
an  elevation  of  298  feet  above  sea,  whereas  it  is  50  to  75  feet  lower  to 
the  west,  north,  and  cast.  It  may  or  may  not  be  lower  to  the  northeast, 
and  there  is  a  possibility  that  it  is  lower  to  the  south  and  is  a  dome.  It 
is  at  least  a  well-marked  uplift,  flanked  on  the  northwest  and  southeast 
by  synclines,  and  is  one  of  the  most  worthy  places  in  the  region  for  a 
test  well. 


64 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


WHITE  OAK  ANTICLINE 

A  low  anticline  plunging  gently  to  the  northeast  extends  in  a  south- 
west-northeast  direction  through  White  Oak,  where  it  is  unsymmetrical, 
the  southeast  limb  being  rather  steep  and  about  40  feet  high,  and  the 
northwest  being  less  than  10  feet  high.  It  thus  has  somewhat  the  form 
of  a  terrace  facing  southeast,  but  the  distinct  slope  to  the  northwest 
makes  it  an  anticline.  To  the  southwest  its  limits  arc  not  known.  It 
may  extend  as  far  as  Baldwin.  To  the  northeast  it  appears  to  broaden 
and  to  extend  nearly  to  Lively  Grove.  The  highest  known  point  is  6 
or  7  miles  east  and  2  miles  north  of  Marissa,  where  the  coal  is  reported 
in  a  test  hole  to  be  295  feet  above  sea.  This  is  higher  than  the  coal  lies 
either  to  the  northwest,  northeast,  or  southeast.  But,  unfortunately, 
there  is  very  little  information  on  the  position  of  the  strata  in  this 
district,  and  hence  the  structure  is  somewhat  doubtful.  There  may  be 
a  dome  just  northwest  of  the  middle  of  Lively  Grove  Township,  and  the 
anticline  may  be  high  or  low,  steep  sided  or  gently  sloping.  But  in  any 
case,  the  anticline  should  be  tested  before  adjacent  territory.  One  test 
has  already  been  sunk  near  White  Oak,  and  no  oil  was  found.  Another 
test  on  this  anticline  might  very  well  be  located  5  or  6  miles  northeast  of 
White  Oak. 

OTHER  ANTICLINAL  FEATURES 

At  several  places  in  the  area  under  discussion,  structures  favorable 
for  the  accumulation  of  oil  and  gas  have  already  been  pointed  out  by 
R.  S.  Blatchley  of  the  State  Geological  Survey  (See  Bulletin  No.  16, 
Ill.  Geol.  Survey,  1911,  pp.  42-177,  inclusive).  These  places  are  enu¬ 
merated  by  him  as  follows : 

1.  A  flat  “terrace”  at  O’Fallon. 

2.  A  low  arch  at  Aviston. 

3.  A  small  anticline  west  of  Belleville,  perhaps  corre¬ 

sponding  to  the  O’Fallon  deformation. 

4.  A  small  arch  east  of  the  Belleville,  perhaps  corre¬ 

sponding  to  the  0  ’Fallon  deformation. 

5.  A  small  arch  east  of  Mascoutah  apparently  corre¬ 

sponding  to  the  Aviston  deformation. 

6.  A  probable  structural  terrace  between  Beaucoup  and 

Ashley  in  Washington  County. 

7.  A  flat  at  Marissa. 

8.  An  anticline  at  Tilden. 

The  new  data  on  these  features  are  indicated  in  the  following 
paragraphs : 

1.  At  O’Fallon  the  strata  have  the  form  of  anticline  rather  than 


CARLYLE  OIL  FIELD 


65 


a  terrace,  though  the  east  limb  is  higher  than  the  west  limb.  The  anti¬ 
cline  is  somewhat  broad  at  Aviston  and  to  the  north,  in  which  direction 
it  extends  3  or  4  miles.  To  the  south  it  becomes  narrower  to  a  point 
just  east  of  Belleville,  beyond  which  it  is  not  known  to  be  developed. 

2.  At  Aviston  the  general  eastward  dip  of  the  strata  seems  to  be 
modified  by  an  upward  bend,  probably  not  over  15  feet  in  height.  The 
arch  falls  between  two  of  the  50-foot  structure  contours,  and  hence  it- 
is  not  shown  on  the  structure  map. 

3.  Concerning  the  small  anticline  west  of  Belleville  no  new  data 
have  been  collected. 

4.  The  anticline  east  of  Belleville  is,  as  indicated  above,  a  continua¬ 
tion  of  the  one  at  0  ’Fallon. 

5.  The  presence  of  an  arch  east  of  Mascoutah  was  inferred  from  the 
fact  that  according  to  the  log  of  the  Postel  No.  1  well,  drilled  in  1893, 
the  coal  lies  higher  there  than  in  the  Beatty  mine  half  a  mile  north  in 
the  north  edge  of  Mascoutah,  but  the  fact  that  at  the  Kolb  mine  south¬ 
east  of  Mascoutah  and  in  the  Postel  well  No.  2  the  coal  is  reported  at 
about  the  same  position  as  in  the  Beatty  mine,  and  also  the  fact  that 
in  the  coal  mines  the  coal  bed  does  not  show  any  indication  of  anticlinal 
structure  nearby,  makes  it  appear  probable  that  the  Postel  No.  1  record 
is  slightly  incorrect.  In  any  case,  since  this  well  is  not  east  of  the 
Beatty  mine,  the  anticline  if  present  would  be  a  small  one  in  Mascoutah. 

6.  The  record  of  the  Shaffer  and  Smathers  well  near  Ashley  makes 
it  appear  that  the  structure  between  Beaucoup  and  Ashley  is  synclinal 
and  not  favorable  for  oil  and  gas  accumulation,  but  not  enough  is  known 
to  warrant  a  definite  statement. 

7.  The  new  information  indicates  that  the  beds  at  Marissa  are  bent 
downward  forming  a  shallow  syncline  flanking  the  White  Oak  anticline 
on  the  northwest  instead  of  being  folded  in  a  flat-topped  anticline  as 
previously  thought. 

8.  The  anticline  at  Tilden  is  much  lower  than  was  formerly  sup¬ 
posed,  being  less  than  10  feet  in  height.  The  crest  lies  about  a  mile 
west  of  Tilden. 


66 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


CARLYLE  OIL  FIELD 
History 

The  Carlyle  oil  pool  was  discovered  early  in  April,  1911,  two  wells, 
Smith  No.  1  and  Murphy  No.  1,  reaching  the  pay  sand  within  a  few 
days  of  each  other.  Before  this,  two  wildcat  wells,  about  a  thousand 
feet  deep,  had  been  drilled  just  south  of  Carlyle,  and  a  showing  of  gas, 
hardly  enough  to  stimulate  prospecting,  was  found  in  one.  The  exist¬ 
ence  of  producing  wells  12  to  15  miles  east  of  Carlyle  in  the  Sandoval 
pool  which  was  opened  in  the  summer  of  1909,  served,  however,  to  make 
men  study  the  surrounding  country,  and  in  1910  Murphy  No.  1  was 
located  by  Mr.  W.  W.  Laird,  President  of  the  Surpass  Oil  and  Gas 
Company.  It  is  about  5  miles  northwest  of  Carlyle  (see  map  of  Carlyle 
oil  field,  Plate  II).  Plans  were  made  to  drill  to  a  depth  of  2,000  feet, 
and  13-inch  casing  was  carried  to  725  feet.  Numerous  difficulties  were 
encountered  and  drilling  proceeded  slowly,  so  that  it  was  several  weeks 
before  the  hole  reached  a  depth  of  750  feet  where  a  showing  of  oil  was 
found.  Late  in  the  year  another  showing  of  oil  was  found  at  860  feet. 
Further  difficulties  and  accidents  hindered  the  drilling  and  little  pro¬ 
gress  was  made  through  the  winter.  In  March,  1911,  the  third  sand 
containing  oil  was  found  at  a  depth  of  1,013  feet  and  was  shot  with  60 
quarts  of  nitro-glycerine.  The  shot  failed  to  bring  oil  in  paying  quan¬ 
tities,  but  the  drillers  proceeded  to  clean  out  the  well  in  the  hope  that 
it  would  turn  out  better,  and  a  250-barrel  tank  was  built  nearby.  The 
oil  found  was  enough  to  make  holders  of  leases  in  the  vicinity  imagine 
that  the  well  was  just  on  the  edge  of  a  pool  and  a  lease  a  short  distance 
away  might  contain  oil  in  paying  quantities.  The  result  was  a  test  well 
half  a  mile  south  and  a  little  east  on  the  northeast  corner  of  the  Smith 
farm.  The  lease  on  this  farm  was  held  by  F.  B.  Ranger  and  drilling 
was  begun  about  the  middle  of  March. 

Owing  in  part  to  the  fact  that  a  big  rental  payment  was  due  in 
about  three  weeks  from  the  time  it  was  started,  work  on  the  Smith  well 
was  rushed  so  that  the  lease  might  be  given  up  before  the  payment  was 
due  if  oil  was  not  found. 

On  April  8th  a  good  flow  of  oil  was  struck  in  the  Smith  well  at  a 
depth  of  1,030  to  1,056  feet.  The  well  began  to  flow  at  a  rate  of  100 
barrels  or  more  a  day  before  it  was  shot.  The  news  spread  rapidly  and 
within  twenty-four  hours  there  were  scores  of  oil  speculators  and  oper¬ 
ators  in  Carlyle.  It  was  conservatively  estimated  that  over  500  people 
paid  a  visit  to  the  new  well  on  Sunday,  April  9th.  During  the  follow¬ 
ing  week  rains  checked  travel,  but  the  hotels  in  Carlyle  were  crowded  to 
their  utmost  capacity  and  many  men  went  to  the  neighboring  towns. 


CARLYLE  OIL  FIELD 


67 


particularly  to  Beckemeyer,  for  hotel  and  livery  accommodations.  The 
crowd  included  leasers,  operators,  contractors,  drillers,  and  a  multitude 
of  “floaters”  without  any  special  calling.  Citizens  were  besought  for 
sleeping  accommodations ;  campers,  usually  with  poor  equipment,  went 
to  the  river  bank  and  roadsides,  and  many  slept  on  the  courthouse  lawn. 

During  the  first  few  weeks  of  the  boom  the  main  feature  of  the  oil 
business  was  the  scramble  for  leases.  Bonus  prices  bounded  up  to  more 
than  a  hundred  dollars  an  acre  for  land  that  could  have  been  bought 
outright  a  few  months  before  at  not  more  than  fifty  dollars  an  acre. 

By  the  last  of  April  twenty  drilling  outfits  were  on  the  ground  and 
several  railway  oil  tanks  had  been  filled  and  shipped  from  Beckemeyer. 

Many  land  owners  were  slow  about  leasing,  and  a  variety  of  means 
were  used  to  pursuade  and  coerce  them.  It  is  said  that  one  farmer’s 
son  was  paid  $5.00  a  day  to  influence  his  father.  On  the  central  streets 
of  Carlyle  were  to  be  seen  at  all  times  of  day  groups  of  men  negotiating 
with  land  owners  or  lease  holders  for  leases,  and  some  speculators  cleared 
large  sums  of  money. 

But  success  was  not  in  store  for  all.  The  new  wells  which  were 
started  were  scattered  over  much  of  Clinton  County,  though  they  were 
more  numerous  near  the  Murphy  and  Smith  wells.  Out  of  sixteen 
prospect  wells  begun  before  the  end  of  April,  twelve  turned  out  to  be 
dry;  but  in  May  several  good  wells  were  brought  in  near  the  original 
ones  and  interest  did  not  lag. 

In  May  and  June  the  producing  territory  was  extended  over  several 
farms,  but  many  dry  holes  were  sunk  in  all  directions  from  the  pool  and 
neither  an  extension  nor  a  new  pool  was  found.  This  brought  on  a 
reaction  that  inevitably  follows  a  boom,  and  for  a  time  discouragement 
prevailed.  Prices  of  oil  and  other  properties  declined  and  many  men 
left  the  region. 

Nevertheless,  the  production  of  the  pool  increased  without  interrup¬ 
tion.  About  the  middle  of  June  a  pipe  line  was  completed  from  San¬ 
doval,  and  the  oil,  including  much  that  had  accumulated  in  storage  tanks, 
was  conducted  to  that  town  and  thence  to  the  refineries  at  Alton. 

During  the  remainder  of  the  summer  the  boundaries  of  the  pool 
were  extended  gradually  out  to  dry  wells  in  all  directions.  To  the  north¬ 
east  in  particular  the  limits  spread  out  much  farther  than  anyone  had 
expected.  The  lease  on  the  Downcwald  farm,  for  example,  would 


scarcely  have  brought  a  dollar  an  acre  at  the  time  of  the  depression  in 
the  early  part  of  the  summer,  but  by  the  end  of  October  it  was  worth 
more  than  a  hundred  dollars  an  acre. 


68 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


Topography  of  Carlyle  Oil  Field 

The  land  surface  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Carlyle  oil  pool  is  nearly  flat 
and  leYel  and  stands  at  an  average  elevation  of  about  465  feet  above 
sea  level  (see  Pl.  VI).  There  are  a  few  knolls  reaching  470  feet  and 
several  of  the  small  stream  valleys  are  cut  below  460  feet.  The  Hempsen 
House  stands  a  little  above  470  feet,  the  road  corner  at  the  Schwierjohan 
School  is  471  feet,  and  the  northeast  part  of  the  field  is  almost  475  feet 
above  sea.  Just  to  the  north  and  east  of  the  pool  are  knolls  which  rise 
above  480  feet.  To  the  east  and  west  the  surface  slopes  down  toward 
Beaver  Creek  and  Ivaskaskia  River  which  flow  here  a  little  over  400  feet 
above  sea.  To  the  south  the  surface  has  an  altitude  of  about  465  feet. 

Geology 

STRATIGRAPHY 

The  stratigraphy  of  the  Carlyle  oil  field  is  much  the  same  as  that 
already  described  for  the  region  in  which  it  lies;  but  that  part  of  the 
section  which  has  been  penetrated  by  the  oil  wells  is  known  in  much 
greater  detail  than  any  part  of  the  section  in  the  remainder  of  the  region 
(see  Plates  III  and  IV). 

CHESTER  GROUP 

That  part  of  the  Chester  group  lying  below  the  principal  producing 
sand  which  has  become  known  to  the  drillers  as  the  Carlyle  sand,  is 
known  from  only  a  few  wells  and  consists  of  one  or  more  heavv  sand- 
stones  (50  to  125  feet  thick),  interbedded  with  limestone  and  shale.  The 
principal  sandstone  is  known  as  the  Cypress  sandstone.  The  Carlyle 
sand  is,  on  the  whole,  a  soft  porous,  medium  fine-grained  sandstone  of 
irregular  thickness,  and  with  numerous  partings.  Around  the  edges  of 
the  pool  it  is  harder  than  in  the  center  and  in  one  or  two  places  pinches 
out  entirely.  Above  the  Carlyle  sand  is  about  30  feet  of  bluish  shale 
containing  in  some  places  one  or  two  beds  of  limestone  and,  in  some 
places,  red  shale.  The  next  hundred  feet  is  even  more  variable.  There 
is  everywhere  some  shale  at  this  position  and  generally,  if  not  every¬ 
where,  a  bed  of  hard  limestone  in  the  lower  part  and  a  bed  of  sandstone 
near  the  top.  In  some  places  most  of  the  rock  30  to  130  feet  above  the 
Carlyle  sand  is  limestone.  The  next  70  feet  is  predominantly  shale,  but 
there  is  some  limestone,  and  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  pool  a 
heavy  bed  of  sandstone  occurs  in  the  upper  part. 

POTTSVILLE  SANDSTONE 

The  Pottsville  sandstone  is  about  160  feet  thick,  and  its  base  is 
about  200  feet  above  the  Carlyle  sand.  It  consists  of  several  heavy  beds 


ILLINOIS  STATE  GEOLOGICAL  BURVET 


BULL,  NO.  JO.  PLATE  VL 


Morelock 


McCabe 


Downewald 


Sehumaker 


Diekempcr 


' Becker 


Murphy 


tSchwierjohn  School 


Thicsling 


Kelhrman 


Crocker  School 


CARLYLE 


Bukcmeyer  \ 


JOOQQ 


BECK  EM  EVER 


Morelock 


□□□ 

□□□ 


+ 

Schlallly 


LEGEND 

•  Oil  Well 

+  Dry  Well 

Abandoned  Well 

-  Township  Line 

- Property  Line 


MAP  OF 

CARLYLE  OIL  FIELD,  ILLINOIS 

BY 

EUGENE  WESLEY  SHAW 

OF  THE 

UNITED  STATES  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 

PREPARED  IN  CO-OPERATION  WITH  THE 

STATE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 
DECEMBER.  1911 

f 

A 

I 

Scale  Of  Miles 


LEGEND 


Contours  showing  elevation 
of  surface  above  sea  level. 
Contour  interval:  In  oil  field  5 
ft.,  outside  of  oil  field  20  ft. 


Buildings 


0 


1 


2 


Drawn  by  A.R.Alyer 


T.2  N. 


CARLYLE  OIL  FIELD 


69 


of  sandstone,  separated  by  layers  of  shale.  This  sandstone  is  generally 
filled  with  salt  water  and  hence  is  coming  to  be  known  as  the  “salt 
sand”;  but  along  the  northern  border  of  the  pool  there  is  much  gas  and 
some  oil  in  the  lowermost  part  of  this  sand.  Along  the  west  side  there 
is  gas  and  water  in  this  lower  part.  In  McCabe  No.  1,  in  the  northwest 
corner  of  the  pool,  a  flow  of  gas  was  strong  enough  to  carry  up  quartz 
pebbles  from  the  sand. 

CARBONDALE  FORMATION 

The  Carbondale  formation  which  extends  from  the  top  of  the  Potts- 
ville  to  the  top  of  the  Herrin  coal  (No.  6),  is  about  225  feet  thick  in 
the  vicinity  of  Carlyle.  A  bed  of  sandstone  which  in  the  lower  50  feet 
of  this  formation  varies  in  thickness  from  10  to  40  feet  or  more,  is  almost 
everywhere  present.  This  rock  generally  contains  salt  water  and  hence 
is  commonly  included  by  the  drillers  with  the  underlying  “salt  sands” 
(Pottsville) .  It  differs  from  them  in  being  somewhat  softer  and  in 
containing  a  large  amount  of  mica  and  other  material  besides  quartz. 
Below  this  sandstone  there  is  in  some  places  a  layer  of  limestone  and 
almost  everywhere  a  bed  of  shale  separating  it  from  the  Pottsville  sand¬ 
stone  below.  The  central  part  of  the  Carbondale  formation  is  predomi¬ 
nantly  shale.  In  some  places  it  is  somewhat  sandy  and  elsewhere  it  con¬ 
tains  more  or  less  lime,  but  beds  of  pure  limestone  are  generally  absent. 
A  short  distance  below  the  Herrin  coal  there  is  generally  a  bed  of  sand¬ 
stone  which  in  the  Carlyle  oil  field  is  dry;  but  in  the  vicinity  of  Cen- 
tralia,  about  15  miles  east,  it  has  in  places  a  good  showing  of  oil.  Above 
this  sandstone  there  is  commonly  a  bed  of  limestone,  and  above  the  lime¬ 
stone  is  the  Herrin  coal  (No.  6)  which  marks  the  top  of  the  formation. 

MCLEANSBORO  FORMATION 

That  part  of  the  McLeansboro  which  is  present  in  the  Carlyle 
field  extends  from  the  top  of  the  Herrin  coal  to  the  top  of  the  Shoal 
Creek  limestone  of  Illinois  Survey  reports.  It  consists  principally  of 
shale  with  a  bed  of  limestone  near  the  base  overlying  the  Herrin  coal, 
and  with  another  limestone  at  the  top ;  the  latter  limestone  being  in 
some  places  separated  into  two  divisions.  This  upper  limestone  gener¬ 
ally  constitutes  the  lied  rock  under  the  surface  clay  and  gravel  and  hence 
is  used  as  a  seat  for  the  drive  pipe. 

QUATERNARY  DEPOSITS 

The  Quaternary  deposits  in  the  Carlyle  oil  field  consist  of  gravelly 
clay  about  30  feet  thick,  overlain  by  clay  (loess),  almost  without  per¬ 
ceptible  grit,  ranging  up  to  20  feet  thick.  There  is  very  little,  if  any, 
well-washed  gravel  but  in  some  places  there  is  sand  with  some  pebbles 


70 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


which  is  free  enough  from  clay  to  be  known  as  quicksand.  Sand  lenses 
of  this  sort  have  made  trouble  in  drilling  and  handling  the  drive  pipe 
in  some  wells. 

STRUCTURE 

The  structure  of  the  rocks  in  the  Carlyle  field  could  be  shown  with 
little  difficulty  if  the  beds  underlying  the  Herrin  coal,  including  the  oil 
sands,  were  all  parallel  to  the  coal.  A  study  of  well  logs  shows,  how¬ 
ever,  that  in  the  pool  the  Carlyle  sand  is  nearly  horizontal  (PI.  VII), 
whereas  the  coal  is  highest  along  the  north  side  of  the  field  and  dips 
most  rapidly  to  the  west  and  southwest.  The  dip  to  the  east  and  south¬ 
west  is  gentle  for  a  mile  or  more,  and  then  becomes  much  greater. 

Plate  VII  is  a  map  which  presents  considerable  information  regard¬ 
ing  the  oil  sand. 

The  data  for  this  map  are  taken  largely  from  drillers’  records,  but 
partly  from  determinations  made  by  the  writer.  The  map  shows :  ( 1 ) 
The  location  and  name  of  each  well  and  the  character  of  the  production. 
(2)  The  character  so  far  as  known  of  the  oil-bearing  sand  with  its 
overlying  and  underlying  rock.  (3)  The  depth  of  the  sand  below  sea 
level  at  most  of  the  wells  and  hence  the  structure  of  the  sand.  A  row 
of  diagrams  taken  in  any  direction  gives  a  cross-section  of  the  sand  in 
that  direction.  The  position  of  (1)  the  top  of  the  sand,  (2)  top  of 
pay,  (3)  bottom  of  pay  and  bottom  of  hole,  are  also  shown  as  far  as 
possible.  The  position  of  the  sand  at  each  well  is  determined  from 
careful  steel  line  measurements  made  for  the  placing  of  the  shot  and 
from  the  elevation  of  the  platform  of  each  well  determined  by  spirit 
level. 

Outside  the  field  the  sand  dips  in  all  directions  except  north,  and 
apparently  it  also  pinches  out  in  all  directions  except  to  the  north.  The 
small  irregularities  in  the  position  of  the  sand  are  probably  not  accu¬ 
rate,  but  arise  out  of  the  fact  that  one  driller  will  call  for  example  a 
sandy  shale  sandstone,  whereas  another  driller  will  call  the  same  rock 
shale.  Some  drillers  even  call  certain  limestones,  shale. 

COMMERCIAL  CONDITIONS 
PRODUCT  OF  THE  WELLS 

All  of  the  wells  of  the  Carlyle  oil  field  yield  gas,  oil,  and  water, 
the  amount  of  each  varying  considerably  from  well  to  well.  The  initial 
production  of  oil  ranges  up  to  2,000  barrels  a  day,  Murphy  No.  5  having 
flowed  about  that  amount  in  the  first  twenty-four  hours.  The  average 
initial  production  is  about  100  barrels  and  the  average  production  after 
two  months  is  about  50  barrels.  A  few  wells  on  the  outskirts  of  the  pool 
have  yielded  less  than  50  barrels  on  the  start,  and  many  have  yielded 


ILLINOIS  STATE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 


BULL.  NO.  20,  PLATE  VTL 


12* 


SHOWING  LOCATION  OF 

WELLS  IN  CARLYLE  OIL  FIELD 

WITH 

DIAGRAMS 

ILLUSTRATING 

CHARACTER,  THICKNESS  AND  VERTICAL  POSITION 

OF  THE 

PRODUCING  OIL  SAND 

BY 

EUGENE  WESLEY  SHAW 

DECEMBER.  1911 

Scale  of  Feet 


the  Bottoms  -600  feet. 


N 

A 


W-Q-B 

I 


880  1320 


Drawn  by  A. R. Alger 


Map  showing  elevation,  character,  and  thickness  of  Carlyle  oil  sand. 


CARLYLE  OIL  FIELD 


71 


between  200  and  300 ;  the  yield  of  the  wells  varies,  therefore,  consider¬ 
ably  but  not  enormously. 

The  flow  of  gas  is  strong  in  all  wells,  particularly  those  in  the  north 
part  of  the  pool.  The  exact  amount  of  gas  has  not  been  determined  in 
any  well,  and  in  but  one  well,  McCabe  No.  1,  has  the  closed  pressure 
been  measured.  It  was  said  to  show  a  pressure  of  about  80  pounds,  but 
in  many  wells  the  gas  is  at  times  strong  enough  to  lift  a  500-foot 
column  of  oil  and  water.  Several  days  after  it  was  shot,  Shaffer  & 
Smather’s  Deter  No.  2  developed  enough  gas  to  force  the  bailer  (weigh¬ 
ing  several  hundred  pounds)  out  of  the  hole  and  up  to  the  top  of  the 
derrick. 

A  few  wells  such  as  Shaffer  &  Smather’s  Deter  No.  1  have  yielded 
no  perceptible  water  at  first,  but  at  such  wells  small  quantities  of  water 
soon  begin  to  appear,  and  in  a  few  weeks  a  considerable  part  of  the 
production  is  water. 

The  relation  of  the  water  to  the  oil  has  not  been  fully  determined, 
but  it  seems  that  the  producing  sand  contains  both  water  and  oil,  and 
that  to  the  north  the  sand  is  saturated  with  water.  Generally  the  water 
is  in  the  lower  part  of  the  sand  and  the  oil  in  the  upper  part,  and  in 
no  good  oil  well  has  a  strong  flow  of  water  been  found  in  the  sand  above 
the  oil ;  but  in  many  wells  the  oil  is  present  in  several  pay  streaks  sepa¬ 
rated  by  more  or  less  non-porous  sand  or  shale  and  with  some  water. 
Many  of  the  best  wells  have  yielded  from  the  beginning  twice  as  much 
water  as  oil.  The  production  of  these  wells  does  not  appear  to  have 
dropped  off  more  rapidly  than  any  other  wells,  and  the  proportionate 
amount  of  salt  water  has  remained  about  the  same.  It  does  not  appear, 
therefore,  that  the  pool  is  being  flooded  with  salt  water,  though  after 
some  time  such  a  condition  may  develop.  It  seems  that  oil,  water,  and 
gas  are  all  three  confined  in  the  porous  part  of  a  layer  of  sandstone  and 
that  the  production  of  the  field  will  be  limited  only  by  the  pore  space  in 
that  sandstone. 

The  total  thickness  of  the  pay  sand  averages  10  or  12  feet.  The 
pore  space  has  not  been  determined  but  probably  amounts  to  about  10 
or  15  per  cent  of  the  rock.  The  total  amount  of  oil  in  the  pool,  therefore, 
may  be  very  roughly  estimated  to  be  about  10,000,000  barrels.  The 
minimum  quantity  recoverable  is  probably  over  a  half,  and  possibly 
three  quarters  or  more,  depending  upon  the  movement  of  the  water. 

The  gravity  of  most  of  the  oil  is  somewhat  above  33  degrees  Baume; 
some  of  it  is  as  high  as  37  or  38,  and  some  is  a  little  below  33  degrees. 
A  sample  from  the  south  side  of  the  Dieppenbrock  farm  was  examined 
by  Dr.  David  T.  Day,  who  says  that  it  is  “well  suited  for  refining,  and 
is  rich  in  good  gasoline  and  illuminating  oil,”  and  that  it  is  “of  the 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


7*0 


Crawford  and  Clark  county  type.”  This  sample  had  a  specific  gravity  of 
0.8563  or  33.5°  B.  It  began  to  boil  at  105°  C.  Between  105°  and 
150°  it  yielded  8  c.c.  of  oil  with  a  gravity  of  0.7445  and  between  150c 
and  300°  yielded  33  c.c.  of  a  specific  gravity  of  .1016.  The  residuum 
57.5  c.c.  had  a  specific  gravity  of  .9126. 

The  oil  from  wells  on  the  edges  of  the  pool  is  remarkably  dark  and 
heavy.  A  sample  from  the  Schulte  farm  at  the  southwest  corner  of  the 
field  yielded  upon  analysis  only  half  as  much  gasoline  and  a  third  as 
much  kerosene  as  the  oil  from  within  the  pool,  and  it  showed  the  oil  to 
be  unsuitable  for  ordinary  refining  purposes. 

There  is  a  rather  large  amount  of  waste  oil,  but  this  is  steamed  and 
the  part  now  actually  wasted  appears  to  be  less  than  one  per  cent  of 
the  whole  production.  The  waste  oil  is  burned  at  considerable  expense 
in  open  pools  and  ditches. 

COSTS 

The  price  of  leases  includes  about  a  dollar  an  acre  as  annual  rental, 
and  one-eighth  of  the  oil  and  gas  produced.  In  addition  to  this  a 
“bonus”  is  commonly  paid,  the  amount  varying  from  a  few  cents  to 
several  hundred  dollars  an  acre,  according  to  the  probability  of  getting 
oil.  The  leasers  receive  either  a  salary  or  a  commission  varying  from 
one  to  ten  cents  an  acre  for  the  leases  they  secure.  The  contractor’s  price 
for  drilling  is  now  $1.10  to  $1.25  per  foot,  but  Avas  more  at  first  on 
account  of  uncertainties  regarding  the  character  of  the  strata.  It  is 
greater  in  the  case  of  deep  Avells,  such  as  those  which  have  been  drilled 
over  2,000  feet,  for  which  the  contract  price  is  about  $2.00  per  foot. 
The  contractor  bears  the  expense  of  everything  but  the  casing  and  the 
shooting.  He  pays  $5.00  a  day  for  fuel,  $3.00  a  day  for  Avater,  about 
$6.00  a  day  to  each  of  his  drillers,  and  $5.00  to  each  of  the  tool  dressers. 
After  drilling  is  completed  the  contractor  recedes  about  $20.00  a  day  for 
cleaning  out  the  well.  Pumps,  power  houses,  and  tanks  constitute  a 
large  item  of  expense,  and  the  upkeep  of  the  Avells  involves  a  consider¬ 
able  outlay.  Each  lease  has  its  power  houses  from  Avhich  all  the  Avells 
are  pumped  by  means  of  “jacks.”  After  drilling  is  completed,  three  or 
four  men,  including  farm  boss  and  pumpers,  are  gi\Ten  steady  Avork  on 
each  lease. 

METHOD  OF  GETTING  AND  HANDLING  THE  OIL 

The  drilling  apparatus  used  includes  many  kinds  of  machines — Star, 
Parkersburg,  National,  and  others — and  both  turnbuckle  and  standard 
rigs.  To  the  drillers  the  standard  and  turnbuckle  rigs  are  most  desir¬ 
able,  but  many  contractors  prefer  machines  because  of  the  smaller  initial 
outlay  and  the  loAver  expense  of  moving.  The  drillers  and  tool  dressers 
work  twelve-hour  tours,  changing  at  noon  and  midnight. 


CARLYLE  OIL  FIELD 


73 


Four  sizes  of  casing  are  used.  The  drive  pipe  is  twelve  and  a  half 
inches  in  diameter  and  about  50  or  60  feet  long  in  order  to  reach  the 
first  hard  rock.  In  some  places  where  the  upper  limestone  (Shoal  Creek 
limestone  of  Illinois  Survey  reports)  is  absent,  over  a  hundred  feet  of 
drive  pipe  have  been  used.  Ten-inch  pipe  is  used  to  hold  the  soft  shales 
of  the  Carbondale  and  McLeansboro  formations  out  of  the  hole  and  is 
about  650  feet  long.  Eight  hundred  and  fifty  feet  of  eight-inch  casing 
are  used  to  shut  off  the  water  from  the  Pottsville  (“salt  sands”).  The 
smallest  casing  is  six  and  a  quarter  inches  in  diameter.  This  holds  back 
the  soft  shales  of  the  Birdsville  formation  which  would  otherwise  cave  in 
and  seriously  hinder  drilling  in  the  oil  sand.  Over  one  thousand  feet  of 
this  size  are  used. 

Upon  reaching  the  pay  sand,  drilling  is  continued  with  much  care 
in  order  to  make  sure  of  stopping  before  the  oil  is  passed  and  water¬ 
bearing  rock  tapped;  but  in  order  to  be  certain  of  having  penetrated  all 
the  productive  part  of  the  sand,  most  wells  are  drilled  until  there  are 
signs  of  increasing  water  or  a  change  in  the  character  of  the  sand. 

The  wells  are  shot  as  soon  as  convenient  after  being  finished.  The 
amount  of  nitroglycerine  used  is  generally  about  forty  quarts,  though 
in  some  wells  with  a  poor  showing  of  oil  and  a  close,  hard  sand,  as 
much  as  a  hundred  or  more  quarts  have  been  used.  The  shot  is  com¬ 
monly  anchored  a  foot  or  more  above  the  bottom  and  is  sometimes  set 
off  by  the  electric  spark  and  sometimes  by  dropping  a  dynamite  cartridge 
with  a  fuse,  into  the  hole.  Before  the  shot  is  fired,  the  smallest  casing  is 
pulled  and  if  the  well  promises  to  be  a  heavy  producer,  lead  lines  are 
made  ready  and  connected  so  that  only  the  first  flow  of  oil  is  lost.  If 
there  is  not  a  large  showing  of  oil  before  the  well  is  shot,  lead  lines  are 
generally  not  needed  until  the  hole  has  been  cleaned. 

Most  of  the  wells  flow  within  ten  minutes  after  the  explosion,  but 
many  of  them  “bridge  over,”  and  do  not  develop  enough  pressure  to 
break  the  bridge.  Indeed,  Murphy  No.  5,  the  heaviest  producer  in  the 
field  was  so  effectually  plugged  by  the  shot,  that  it  was  thought  to  be 
below  the  average  until  the  tools  were  let  down  and  the  bridge  broken. 

After  the  shot,  the  best  wells  flow  intermittently  (“by  heads”)  for 
several  weeks.  One  well,  Schomaker  No.  1,  had  been  flowing  over  four 
months  at  the  time  this  examination  was  made.  The  lighter  wells  are 
“put  to  pumping”  within  a  few  days  after  being  shot. 

The  oil  goes  first  to  a  tall,  slender  “gun  barrel”  tank  where  most  of 
the  water  settles  to  the  bottom  and  flows  out  automatically.  The  oil 
is  then  conducted  to  a  tank  where  it  is  steamed  to  separate  more  water 
from  the  oil.  Finally,  after  the  waste  oil  has  settled,  been  drawn  off, 
and  the  gager  has  measured  the  amount  of  oil,  the  tanks  are  opened  and 
the  oil  is  forced  into  pipe  lines  by  means  of  small  steam  engines. 


74 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


ACCIDENTS 

Several  more  or  less  serious  accidents  have  occurred.  One  man  was 
badly  burned  at  the  Bond  well  engine  and  several  have  received  some¬ 
what  painful  injuries  while  unloading  casing.  Two  men  have  been 
seriously  injured  by  blown-off  well  caps. 

FIRE  LOSSES 

There  has  been  but  one  important  fire  in  the  Carlyle  field.  This 
one,  on  the  eighty  of  the  Deter  farm  was  caused  by  a  waste  oil  fire 
which  became  uncontrollable.  Several  tanks  of  oil  and  one  drilling  outfit 
were  destroyed,  entailing  a  loss  of  several  thousand  dollars. 

WELL  RECORDS 

The  following  records  have  been  chosen  as  representative  of  the 
wells  in  the  Carlyle  pool  and  surrounding  territory : 

WELLS  IN  THE  CARLYLE  FIELD 

Well  No.  4  on  Henry  Wilkins  farm 

Location— SE.  f4  sec.  10,  T.  2  N.,  E.  3  W. 

Altitude — 465  feet. 

Description  of  Strata  Thickness  Depth 

Feet  Feet 

Clay,  sand  and  gravel,  containing  some  peat,  water,  and  gas .  130  130 

Shale  .  20  150 

“Shell”  .  10  160 

Shale  .  20  180 

Sandstone  (water)  .  15  195 

Shale  . 35  230 

“Shell”  .  10  240 

Shale  .  110  350 

Limestone  .  20  370 

Shale  .  20  390 

“Shell”  .  30  420 

Shale  .  15  435 

Coal  .  2  437 

“Slate  and  shells’  .  243  680 

Sandstone  (salt  water)  .  20  700 

Shale  .  45  745 

“Shell”  .  15  760 

Shale  .  55  815 

“Cave”  .  25  840 

Limestone  .  30  870 

Shale  .  20  890 

Limestone  .  00  950 

Shale  .  15  965 

Limestone  .  20  985 

Shale  .  19  1,004 

“Shell”  . 14  1,018 

Shale  .  5  1,023 

“Shell”  .  3  1,026 

Shale  .  3  1,029 

Sandstone  (dry)  .  17  1,046 

Sandstone  (oil)  .  11  1,057 


CARLYLE  OIL  FIELD 


75 


Well  No.  2  on  NE.  part  of  Deter  farm 

Location— SW.  14  NE.  %  sec.  2,  T.  2  N.,  R.  3  W. 

Altitude— 465  feet. 


Description  of  Strata 


Clay  . 

Limestone  . 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

Shale  . 

Red  rock  . 

Limestone  . 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

Coal  . 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

Shale  . 

Red  rock . 

Shale  . 

Sandstone  (salt  water)  . 

Shale  . 

Sandstone,  show  of  gasil 
Sandstone  and  limestone 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

Shale  . 

Shale,  sandy . 

Sandstone,  show  of  oil.  .  . 

Sandstone  . 

Sandstone  (oil)  . 

Sandstone  (oil  and  gas)  . 


Thickness 

Feet 

42 
8 

210 

8 

92 

10 

6 

34 
5 
5 

15 

45 

70 

3 

37 

20 

86 

81 

63 

10 

5 

27 

43 
20 

35 
15 

5 

23 

11 

1 

6 

5 

6 


Depth 

Feet 

42 

50 

260 

268 

360 

370 

376 

410 

415 

420 

435 

480 

550 

553 

590 

610 

696 

777 

840 

850 

855 

882 

925 

945 

980 

995 

1,000 

1,023 

1,034 

1,035 

1,041 

1,046 

1,052 


aIn  the  No.  1  well  on  this  lease  400  feet  from  No.  2  salt  water  and  gas  were  found  in  this 
sand  in  such  quantities  that  drilling  was  stopped  for  four  hours. 


Well  No.  6  on  Smith  farm 

Location— NW.  %  NW.  sec.  11,  T.  2  N.,  R.  3  W. 
Altitude — 468  feet. 

Description  of  Strata 


Soil  . 

Gravel  and  sand 

Gravel  . 

Lime  . 

Shale,  hard 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

Shale,  hard  .  .  . 

Limestone  . 

Coal  . 

Shale,  hard  .  .  . 
Sand  and  water 


Thickness 

Depth 

Feet 

Feet 

8 

8 

17 

25 

42 

67 

20 

87 

113 

200 

200 

400 

5 

405 

5 

410 

20 

430 

6 

436 

45 

481 

10 

491 

76 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


Shale,  black  .  34  525 

“Slate”  . 45  57U 

Sandstone  .  5  575 

“Slate”  .  10  585 

Coal  .  3  588 

Shale,  black .  22  610 

“Slate”  .  10  620 

Sandstone  .  19  639 

“Slate”  .  36  675 

Sandstone  (salt  water)  .  48  723 

Shale  .  4  727 

Sandstone  (salt  water)  .  31  758 

Shale  .  10  768 

“Slate”  .  12  780 

Sandstone  and  shale  .  20  800 

“Slate”  .  68  868 

“Shell”  .  4  872 

Sandstone  and  shale  . .  18  890 

“Slate”  .  15  905 

Sandstone  (salt  water)  .  12  917 

“Slate”  .  43  960 

Limestone  .  12  972 

“Slate”  .  10  982 

Limestone  . 53  1,035 

Sandstone  and  shale .  8  1,043 

“Slate”  .  5  1,048 

Sandstone  .  18  1,066 


Well  No.  1  on  the  McCabe  farm 

Location— SW.  %  NE.  y±  sec.  3,  T.  2  N.,  B.  3  W. 
Altitude — 464  feet. 


Description  of  Strata  Thickness 

Feet 

Soil  .  5 

Clay,  sandy  .  56 

Shale  .  319 

Limestone  . , .  11 

Shale  .  8 

Coal  .  12 

‘  ‘  Slate  ”  .  165 

Sandstone  (salt  water)  .  15 

Shale  . 25 

Sandstone  (salt  water)  .  94 

Shale  and  sandstone  .  130 

Shale  .  10 

Sandstone  (gas)  .  20 

Sandstone  (oil)  .  35 

Shale  .  45 

Limestone  .  48 

Shale  .  23 

Sandstone  (gas)  .  13 

Sandstone  (oil)  .  19 


Depth 

Feet 

5 

61 

380 

391 

399 

411 

576 

591 

616 

710 

840 

850 

870 

905 

950 

998 

1,021 

1,034 

1,053 


CARLYLE  OIL  FIELD 


77 


Well  No.  1  on  Karhoff  farm 

Location — NE.  %  NW.  %  sec.  10,  T.  2  N.,  R.  3  W. 
Altitude — 469  feet. 

Description  of  Strata 


Soil  . 

Gravel  . 

“Hard  pan”  . 

Gravel  (water)  . 

Limestone  . 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

Coal  . 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

Shale  . 

Sandstone  (salt  water) 

Shale  . 

Sandstone  (salt  water) 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

Shale  . 

Sandstone  (oil)  . 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

Shale  . 


Thickness 

Depth 

Feet 

Feet 

25 

25 

10 

35 

35 

70 

5 

75 

7 

82 

118 

200 

35 

235 

165 

400 

5 

405 

10 

415 

5 

420 

6 

426 

164 

590 

10 

600 

114 

714 

15 

729 

31 

760 

30 

790 

5 

795 

5 

800 

30 

830 

10 

840 

40 

880 

5 

885 

10 

895 

25 

920 

10 

930 

10 

940 

72 

1,012 

13 

1,025 

13 

1,038 

21 

1,059 

16 

1,075 

7 

1,082 

3 

1,085 

12 

1,097 

3 

1,100 

Well  No.  1  on  Treat-Craw  ford  Deter  lease 

Location— SE.  %  SW.  sec.  2,  T.  2  N.,  R.  3  W. 

Altitude — 472  feet. 


Description  of  Strata  Thickness  Depth 

Feet  Feet 

Clay  and  gravel  .  56  56 

Limestone  .  6  62 

“Slate  and  shells”  . 375  437 

Limestone  . 1  438 

Coal  .  7  445 

Shale  .  224  669 

Limestone  .  10  679 

Shale  .  35  714 

Sandstone  (salt  water)  .  39  753 


78 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


Shale  . 

Sandstone  (salt  water) 

Shale  . . 

Sandstone  (salt  water) 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

‘ 1  Slate  and  shells  ” 

Limestone  . 

Sandstone  . 

‘ 1  Slate  and  shells  ’  ’ 

Limestone  . 

Sandstone  . 

Sandstone  and  shale  .  . 

Sandstone  (gas)  . 

Sandstone  (oil)  . 

Shale  . 

Sandstone  (oil)  . 


12 

765 

11 

776 

17 

793 

5 

798 

22 

820 

8 

828 

127 

955 

2 

957 

8 

965 

63 

1,028 

16 

1,044 

2 

1,046 

3 

1,049 

4 

1,053 

5 

1,058 

2 

1,060 

4 

1,064 

WELLS  OUTSIDE  THE  CARLYLE  FIELD 

Well  No.  1  on  Holthaus  farm 

Location — SE.  14  SE.  14  sec.  29,  T.  2  N.,  E.  3  W. 
Altitude — 440  feet. 


Description  of  Strata  Thickness 

Feet 

Drift  .  78 

Shale  .  40 

Limestone  .  6 

Shale  . 32 

Limestone  . 3 

Shale  .  52 

Coal  .  5 

Shale  .  53 

Limestone  .  6 

Shale  .  35 

Limestone  .  4 

Shale  . 20 

Limestone  .  12 

*Shale  . 16 

Limestone  .  43 

Coal  .  11 

Shale  .  4 

Limestone  .  35 

Shale  .  24 

Coal  .  3 

Shale  .  30 

Limestone  .  12 

Shale  .  23 

Sandstone  .  24 

Shale  .  26 

Sandstone  (salt  water)  .  43 

Shale  .  12 

Sandstone  (salt  water)  .  55 

Shale  .  8 

Sandstone  (salt  water)  .  34 


Depth 

Feet 

78 

118 

124 

156 

159 

211 

216 

269 

275 

310 

314 

334 

346 

362 

405 

416 

420 

455 

479 

482 

512 

524 

547 

571 

597 

640 

652 

707 

715 

749 


CARLYLE  OIL  FIELD 


Shale  . 

Sandstone  . 

Limestone  . 

Sandstone  and  shale  .  . 

Shale  . 

Sandstone  (salt  water) 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

Red  rock  . 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

Shale  . 

Red  rock . 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

Shale  . 

Sandstone  . 

Shale  . 

Sandstone  (salt  water) 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

Shale  . 

Red  rock . 

Limestone  . 

Red  rock  . 

Sandstone  (salt  water) 

Shale  . 

Sandstone  (salt  water) 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

Sandstone  (salt  water) 


79 

20 

769 

12 

781 

8 

789 

18 

807 

12 

819 

10 

829 

4 

833 

44 

877 

3 

880 

5 

885 

20 

905 

26 

931 

10 

941 

20 

961 

25 

986 

14 

1,000 

10 

1,010 

12 

1,022 

38 

1,060 

12 

1,072 

8 

1,080 

20 

1,106 

8 

1,108 

6 

1,114 

4 

1,118 

12 

1,130 

15 

1,145 

20 

1,165 

5 

1,170 

50 

1,220 

5 

1,225 

10 

1,235 

53 

1,288 

Well  No.  2  on  A.  Beckemeyer  farm 

Location— NE.  %  NW.  *4  sec.  22,  T.  2  N.,  R.  3  W. 
Altitude — 455  feet. 


Description  of  Strata 


Soil  . 

Sand  and  gravel . 

Limestone  . 

“Slate”  . 

Limestone  . 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

1 1  Slate  ”  . 

Shale  . 

“Slate”  . 

Coal  . 

Clay  . 

“Slate”  . 

Sandstone  (salt  water) 
“Slate”  . 


Thickness 

Feet 

5 
50 
15 
70 
10 

150 

8 

67 

60 

4 

6 

10 

165 

10 

60 


Depth 

Feet 

5 

55 

70 

140 

150 

300 

308 

375 

435 

439 

445 

455 

620 

630 

690 


80 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


Sandstone  (salt  water) 

Shale  . 

Sandstone  . 

Shale  . 

Sandstone  . . 

Limestone  . 

Sandstone  (salt  water) 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

Shale  . . 

Limestone  . 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

Shale  . 

Limestone  . 

Sandstone  (salt  water) 
Shale  . 


90 

780 

20 

800 

20 

820 

5 

825 

10 

835 

30 

865 

35 

900 

10 

910 

10 

920 

20 

940 

15 

955 

5 

960 

35 

995 

15 

1,010 

18 

1,028 

51 

1,079 

5 

1,084 

THE  CARLINVILLE  OIL  AND  GAS  FIELD 

By  Fred  H.  Kay 


OUTLINE 

PAGE 

Introduction  .  83 

Location  and  extent  .  83 

History  .  83 

Topography  .  84 

Relief  .  84 

Drainage  .  84 

Geology  . 84 

Stratigraphy  .  84 

Glacial  drift  .  84 

“Coal  Measures  ’  ’  rocks  .  85 

General  description .  85 

Carlinville  limestone  .  86 

Coal  No.  6  .  86 

Mississippian  rocks  .  87 

Structure  .  8S 

Oil  and  gas  .  88 

Sands  .  88 

Production  .  89 

Development  .  89 

Character  of  oil  and  gas  .  92 

Relation  to  structure .  92 

Probable  extension  of  field .  94 

ILLUSTRATIONS 

PLATE 

VIII.  Map  of  Carlinville  and  vicinity  showing  geological  structure  of  the  oil 

sands,  location  of  wells,  properties,  etc .  84 

IX.  Structure  section  A- A  from  west  to  east  through  Carlinville  field .  88 

X.  Structure  section  B-B  from  south  to  north  through  Carlinville  field .  90 

TABLE 

34.  Partial  record  of  Carlinville  wells .  90 


(81  ) 


THE  CARLINVILLE  OIL  AND  GAS  FIELD 


INTRODUCTION 

This  paper  is  a  preliminary  report  on  the  Carlinville  oil  and  gas 
field,  and  is  designed  to  meet  the  needs  of  operators  who  are  attempting 
to  locate  the  most  favorable  areas  for  the  accumulation  of  oil  and  gas. 
Data  are  too  meagre  at  the  present  time  for  the  deduction  of  final  con¬ 
clusions  regarding  the  possibilities  of  the  field,  but  it  is  hoped  that  this 
presentation  of  available  information  will  be  of  some  use  in  pointing  out 
the  geologic  structure  of  the  field,  and  thereby  limiting  prudent  explora¬ 
tion  to  the  most  favorable  localities. 

Acknowledgments  are  due  to  the  operators  who  have  freely  submit¬ 
ted  information  regarding  their  wells,  and  especially  to  Mr.  Thomas 
Rinaker  for  hearty  cooperation,  and  for  the  use  of  a  large  number  of 
data  in  his  possession. 

This  report  is  an  amplification  of  one  made  by  Mr.  R.  S.  Blatchlev 
in  Bulletin  16  of  the  State  Geological  Survey,  1910,  and  is  based  on  more 
recent  data  than  were  available  when  Mr.  Blatchley  made  his  investiga¬ 
tion  of  this  field. 

LOCATION  AND  EXTENT 

The  Carlinville  oil  and  gas  field  is  near  Carlinville,  Macoupin 
County,  Illinois.  Up  to  December  1,  1911,  twenty-five  wells  had  been 
drilled  within  a  radius  of  five  miles  from  town.  The  productive  area, 
however,  is  three  miles  southwest  of  Carlinville  in  secs.  7  and  8,  T.  9  N., 
R.  7  W.,  as  shown  by  Plate  VIII. 

The  recent  discovery  of  a  commercial  quantity  of  oil  in  addition  to 
the  gas  for  which  the  field  has  heretofore  been  known  has  stimulated 
interest,  and  has  encouraged  operators  to  undertake  further  prospecting. 

Not  enough  drilling  has  been  done  to  outline  the  productive  field,  but 
the  principal  wells  lie  in  an  elliptical  area,  the  main  axis  of  which  is 
about  one  mile  in  length,  extending  from  the  central-eastern  part  of  sec. 
7,  northeast  into  sec.  8.  The  minor  or  north-south  axis  is  about  one- 
quarter  mile  in  length,  drilling  having  been  confined  to  the  flood  plain  of 
Macoupin  Creek. 

HISTORY 

The  first  drilling  in  this  field  was  done  about  1867  by  St.  Louis 
capital.  One  well  was  put  down  without  striking  oil  and  was  abandoned. 
No  further  efforts  were  made  until  1909,  when  the  Impromptu  Explora¬ 
tion  Company  drilled  several  wells  and  developed  enough  gas  for  illum¬ 
inating  purposes  in  the  town  of  Carlinville. 


(83) 


84 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


Although  most  of  the  drilling  has  been  done  by  the  Impromptu 
Exploration  Company,  the  following  operators  have  put  down  one  or 
more  holes:  E.  E.  Chrysler;  C.  J.  Lumpkin  and  associates;  John  Dunn; 
Andrew  Benson;  Ohio  Consolidated  Oil  Co.;  E.  A.  Ibbetson. 

TOPOGRAPHY 

Relief 

The  Carlinville  area  is  one  of  moderate  relief.  The  upland  prairies 
are  level  or  gently  rolling,  and  in  most  eases  are  less  than  100  feet 
above  the  valley  floors  of  the  larger  streams.  The  topography  becomes 
rugged  near  the  valleys  of  the  principal  drainage  lines,  and  although 
the  relief  is  not  great,  it  is  sufficient  to  characterize  the  wooded  hills 
bordering  the  valleys  as  the  ‘ 1  broken  country.  ’  ’ 

No  precise  levels  have  been  run  in  this  district  by  the  Survey,  and 
for  the  present  report  Carlinville  is  considered  to  be  664  feet  above  sea 
level,  this  being  the  elevation  given  by  the  Chicago  &  Alton  Railroad  for 
their  station. 

Drainage 

The  main  drainage  line  is  Macoupin  Creek,  which  flows  southwest 
through  the  district.  This  creek  and  its  tributaries  have  cut  valleys 
about  100  feet  below  the  general  level  of  the  country,  and  the  main  flood 
plain,  upon  which  most  of  the  drilling  has  been  done,  is  wide  enough 
to  be  a  conspicuous  feature  of  the  topography.  At  times  of  high  water 
a  large  area  bordering  Macoupin  Creek  is  submerged,  and  sometimes, 
especially  in  the  spring,  surface  water  covers  the  casings  and  fills  the 
wells.  Run-off  is  rapid,  however,  and  drilling  operations  are  not  often 
interrupted  for  any  considerable  time. 

GEOLOGY 

Stratigraphy 

GLACIAL  DRIFT 

Most  of  the  bed  rock  in  the  Carlinville  field  is  covered  by  a  variable 
amount  of  clays,  sands,  and  gravels  which  constitute  the  glacial  drift. 
The  thickness  of  this  material  varies  in  different  parts  of  Macoupin 
County  from  a  thin  covering  up  to  200  feet,  the  irregularity  being  due 
to  the  uneven  character  of  the  surface  upon  which  the  drift  was  deposit¬ 
ed.  The  extreme  thicknesses,  such  as  those  of  200  feet,  are  probably  the 
result  of  the  filling  of  pre-glacial  valleys.  Macoupin  Creek  and  its 
tributaries  have  carried  away  much  of  the  surface  material  along  their 
channels,  and  in  some  places  have  exposed  the  underlying  rocks. 


T.9N.  ,  ,  \  T.  70  N. 


ILLINOIS  STATK  GEOLOGICAL  Slim  FO 


BULL.  NO.  20.  PLATE  VIII 


V  llanstahff 


□□□□□ 


30001 


]□□□□ 

]□□□□ 

]□□□ 

]□□□ 

]□□□ 


C.  A.  Walker 


AJIoacke 


TOWNSHIP 

township 


CARI.1NV1LLE 

BRUSHY  MOUND 


F.  McClure 


J.  P  Sellers 


J.  C.  Anderson 


ILLINOIS  STATE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 

F.  W.  DEWOLF.  Director 

MAP 


CARLINV1LLE  OIL  FIELD 


lSru*»  hf  C.C.  W*l Itg 


LEGEND 
•  OIL  WELL 
■X  CASWELL 
+  SHOW  of  OIL 
A  SHOW  of  GAS 
+  ABANDONED  WELL 
-f-  DRY  WELL 


LEGEND* 

O  NO  DATA 


CONTOURS  and  figure* 
showing  the  election  of 
the  top  of  the  sand  above 
sea-level. 


SCALE  OF  MILES 
1 


CONTOUR  INTERVAL  10  FEET 


G  Ho  *■»'>*• 


J.  A .  McClure 


CARLINVILLE  OIL  AND  GAS  FIELD 


85 


“coal  measures”  rocks 

GENERAL  DESCRIPTION 

All  of  the  stratified  rocks  exposed  in  the  Carlinville  field  belong  to 
the  series  known  as  the  “Coal  Measures.”  Although  the  series  as  a 
whole  may  be  described  as  consisting  of  shales,  sandstones,  a  minor 
amount  of  limestone  and  several  beds  of  coal,  it  is  usually  impossible  to 
correlate  individual  beds  in  different  well  logs  with  any  degree  of  exact¬ 
ness.  Three  horizons — the  Carlinville  limestone,  coal  No.  6,  and  the  oil 
and  gas  zone  at  the  base — are  persistent,  but  the  intervening  shales, 
although  constant  in  thickness,  are  changeable  in  character. 

The  rocks  above  the  oil  sands  m  the  Carlinville  field  have  been 
divided  by  geologists  into  two  parts,  the  name  McLeansboro  being 
assigned  to  the  beds  from  the  first  solid  rock  near  the  surface,  down  to 
the  top  of  coal  No.  6.  The  beds  above  the  oil  sands  up  to  and  including 
coal  No.  6  are  known  as  the  Carbondale  formation. 

The  Carbondale  varies  in  thickness  from  200  to  250  feet ;  and  since 
the  McLeansboro  was  subject  to  erosion  in  pre-glacial  times,  its  thick¬ 
ness  is  even  more  variable.  Best  No.  1  and  Sellers  No.  1  showed  200 
feet  of  this  formation,  but  the  average  for  the  field  is  lower.  Barnstable 
No.  1  penetrated  550  feet  of  “Coal  Measures”  rocks.  This  figure  is 
from  50  to  100  feet  in  excess  of  that  for  a  majority  of  the  wells  in  the 
Carlinville  field.  The  following  section  gives  a  general  idea  of  the 
position  and  thickness  of  the  upper  part  of  the  “Coal  Measures”  strata.1 

Record,  of  Weir’s  shaft,  Carlinville 


Description  of  Strata  Thickness  Depth 

Feet  Feet 

Drift  clays . . .  75  75 

Shale,  soft . 28%  103% 

Coal,  soft  .  %  104 

Fire  clays,  dark  and  light .  5  109 

Sandstone  and  shale .  70  179 

Clay  shale  .  15  194 

Shale,  dark  .  6  200 

Coal,  soft,  smutty  .  5  205 

Fire  clay .  6  211 

Sandstone  .  8%  219% 

Clay  shale  .  2  221% 

Limestone  .  3  224% 

Clay  shale  .  1  225% 

Limestone  .  1%  227 

Coal  .  1%  228% 

Shale  .  6%  235 

Coal  .  %  235% 

Fire  clay .  2%  238 

Hard  rock  (probably  limestone  or  limy  sandstone) .  12  250 

Shale  .  5  255 

Limestone  .  5  260 

Shale,  black .  4  264 

Coal,  No.  6 .  6  270 


UVorthen,  A.  H.,  Geol.  Survey  of  Illinois,  vol.  V,  p.  289,  1873. 


86 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


CARLINVILLE  LIMESTONE 

No.  11  of  the  section  is  a  seven-foot  bed  of  hard,  gray  limestone 
known  as  the  Carlinville.  This  limestone,  which  is  frequently  exposed, 
and  which  forms  the  bed  rock  in  most  of  the  held,  has  been  traced  from 
the  vicinity  of  La  Salle,  Ill.,  south  to  Carlinville,  thence  southeast  into 
Saline  County.  Because  of  its  occurrence  over  this  large  area,  it  con¬ 
stitutes  a  useful  key  horizon  in  any  attempt  to  determine  the  structural 
geology  of  the  held.  Its  absence  in  some  of  the  wells  is  due,  no  doubt,  to 
erosion  prior  to  the  deposition  of  the  glacial  material. 

The  following  detailed  sections  of  the  Carlinville  limestone  are 
taken  from  a  report  by  Mr.  J.  A.  Udden.1 

Exposures  on  the  Walker  farm  NE.  y2  sec.  35,  T .  10  N.,  E.  7  W. 

Feet 

3.  Limestone,  chocolate  colored,  coarse  grained,  in  beds  %  to  6  inches  in 

thickness  . 

2.  Shales,  gray  .  10 

1.  Limestone,  very  hard,  bluish  gray,  in  seams  varying  from  3,  8,  to  12 

inches;  brown  on  weathering .  2 

In  the  NW.  !/4  sec.  31,  T.  10  N.,  R.  7  W.,  the  same  limestone  as  bed 
No.  1  of  the  section  given  above,  occurs  with  a  thickness  of  6  feet.  It 
is  exposed  on  the  east  side  of  Spanish  Needles  Creek  in  the  NW.  % 
sec.  21,  T.  9  N.,  R.  7  W.,  and  in  a  small  tributary  to  this  creek  in  the 
NW.  14  sec.  28,  T.  9  N.,  R.  7  W.  It  outcrops  at  a  few  places  in  the  channel 
of  Macoupin  Creek.  Mr.  Udden  says:  “The  Carlinville  limestone  aver¬ 
ages  about  seven  feet  in  thickness.  It  is  generally  bluish  gray,  compact, 
close  textured,  and  very  hard,  breaking  into  irregular  pieces.  On  weath¬ 
ering  it  assumes  a  rusty  color.  Two  features  are  characteristic  of  this 
limestone,  one,  a  blotchy  appearance  and  the  other  its  tendency  to 
weather  into  seams  two  and  one-half  to  three  inches  in  thickness.” 
About  15  feet  above  the  Carlinville  limestone  and  overlying  gray  shales, 
a  4-foot  bed  of  coarse-grained,  chocolate-colored  limestone  occurs,  which 
in  some  places  has  the  appearance  of  a  sandstone  because  of  the  presence 
of  sands  grains  and  flakes  of  mica.  This  limestone  disintegrates  easily, 
and  can  usually  be  distinguished  without  difficulty  from  the  harder  Car¬ 
linville  bed. 

COAL  no.  6 

Although  several  coal  horizons  are  usually  penetrated  by  the  drill, 
only  No.  6  holds  its  thickness  and  general  characteristics  over  a  consid¬ 
erable  area.  This  coal,  which  averages  about  6y2  feet  in  thickness, 
occurs  200  to  220  feet  below  the  Carlinville  limestone.  Some  of  the  wells, 
such  as  Klein  No.  1,  V.  Hall  No.  5,  McClure  No.  1,  and  M.  F.  Hall 


1Udden,  J.  A.,  The  Shoal  Creek  limestone:  Ill.  State  Geol.  Survey,  Bull.  8,  p.  120,  1907. 


CARLINVILLE  OIL  AND  GAS  FIELD 


87 


No.  1,  show  no  coal.  It  is  possible  that  in  some  cases  black  shale  repre¬ 
sents  the  coal  horizons,  but  it  is  most  probable  that  the  absence  of  coal 
is  clue  to  erosion  prior  to  the  deposition  of  the  glacial  drift. 

The  sands  vary  in  thickness  from  a  few  feet  to  about  seventy  feet 
and  are  believed  to  constitute  the  Pottsville  formation,  lying  at  the  base 
of  the  ‘  ‘  Coal  Measures.  ’  ’ 


MISSISSIPPIAN  ROCKS 

Underneath  the  sands,  the  drill  usually  strikes  limestone  which  is 
supposed  to  be  either  Ste.  Genevieve  or  St.  Louis  limestone  of  Missis- 
sippian  age,  although  no  samples  of  this  formation  have  been  examined. 
The  Chester  shales,  sandstones,  and  limestones,  which  underlie  the  State 
south  of  Carlinville,  and  which  include  most  of  the  producing  sands  of 
the  main  oil  fields,  are  absent  in  this  field.  This  signifies  that  while  the 
Chester  beds  were  being  deposited  to  the  south,  the  Carlinville  area  was 
a  land  surface,  subject  to  erosion.  The  fact  that  the  Pottsville  beds  were 
afterward  deposited  upon  an  uneven  surface,  accounts  for  some  of  the 
irregularities  in  the  thickness  of  the  sands.  The  log  of  F.  Hall  No.  1 
in  the  W.  V2  SW.  *4  sec.  5,  T.  9  N.,  R.  7  W.,  furnishes  the  deepest 
record  in  the  field  and  is  published  herewith : 


Record  of  F.  Hall  well ,  No.  l 

Location — W.  %  SW.  sec.  5,  T.  9  N.,  R.  7  W. 
Elevation — 655  feet  above  sea  level. 

Description  of  Strata 


Surface  . . . 

Soapstone  . 

“Slate”  . 

Limestone,  white . 

Shale,  black  and  coal . 

Lime  shell  . 

‘  ‘  Slate,  ’  ’  white . 

Lime  . 

‘ 1  Slate,  ’  ’  white  . 

Coal  . 

‘  ‘  Slate,  ’  ’  white  . 

Shale,  brown  . 

1 1  Slate,  ’  ’  white,  sandy  . 

Sand,  coarse  (gas?)  . 

Sand,  soft,  salt  w-ater . 

Lime,  sandy,  hard  (fresh  water  at  700) 

Sand,  salt  . 

Limestone,  hard  . 

Water  sand . 

Limestone  . . 

Limestone  and  shale  . 

Limestone  and  sand . 

Limestone,  broken . 

Limestone,  brown  . 

Limestone,  black  (iron  pyrites)  . 

Sand,  gray . 


Thickness 

Depth 

Feet 

Feet 

40 

40 

38 

78 

137 

215 

8 

223 

10 

233 

4 

237 

6 

243 

8 

251 

39 

290 

3 

293 

57 

350 

8 

358 

137 

495 

10 

505 

65 

570 

156 

726 

5 

731 

24 

755 

20 

775 

25 

800 

13 

813 

25 

838 

32 

870 

15 

885 

10 

895 

25 

920 

88 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


Shale  .  48  968 

Limestone,  sandy  (salt  water)  .  247  1,215 

Limestone,  red  and  brown  . 10  1,225 

Limestone,  gray  . 25  1,250 

“ Slate,’ ’  light  colored .  50  1,300 

Limestone,  brown  .  8  1,308 

‘  ‘  Slate,  ’  ’  black,  gritty . 87  1,395 

Limestone  .  160  1,555 

Sandstone  .  45  1,600 

Unrecorded  .  135  1,735 

“Slate,”  white .  179  1,914 

Lime  (water  almost  fresh) .  193  2,107 


Structure 

Since  most  of  the  rocks  are  covered  by  a  mantle  of  glacial  drift,  the 
arrangement  of  the  beds  and  the  ‘  ‘  lay 7  ’  of  the  sands  must  be  determined 
by  a  study  of  the  well  logs.  The  map  which  accompanies  this  report 
(Pl.  VIII)  shows  contour  lines  drawn  with  a  ten-foot  interval,  con¬ 
necting  those  points  on  the  top  of  the  oil  sands  which  have  the  same 
elevations  above  sea  level.  The  elevations  of  the  wells  were  determined 
by  stadia  surveys  and  the  altitude  of  the  oil  sands  were  obtained  by  sub¬ 
tracting  from  the  well  elevation,  the  amount  of  material  above  the  sands, 
as  shown  by  the  well  logs. 

The  present  wells  roughly  outline  a  fold  of  considerable  intensity  but 
of  small  areal  extent.  The  apex  or  highest  point  is  probably  reached 
by  Klein  No.  1,  located  in  the  NE.  y2  SE.  14  sec.  7.  In  it  the  sand 
occurs  238  feet  above  sea  level,  or  more  than  100  feet  higher  than  the 
corresponding  sands  in  Klein  No.  2,  which  is  but  one-half  mile  south. 
The  general  shape  of  the  fold  resembles  the  bowl  of  an  inverted  spoon, 
its  longest  axis  extending  about  N.  60°  E.  from  the  center  of  the  eastern 
half  of  sec.  7,  T.  9  N.,  R.  7  W. 

Plates  IX  and  X  indicate  the  dips  along  lines  A-A  and  B-B  of  Plate 
VIII.  From  Klein  No.  1,  the  strata  dip  steeply  to  the  north,  west  and 
south,  but  more  gently  to  the  east.  In  Hall  No.  5,  near  the  center  of 
sec.  8,  the  productive  sands  are  found  only  24  feet  lower  than  those  in 
Klein  No.  1.  East  of  Hall  No.  5  the  sands  show  a  dip  of  34  feet  to 
McClure  No.  1,  which  is  600  feet  distant.  No  accurate  information  is 
available  for  the  territory  east  of  the  McClure  wells,  except  the  logs  of 
Sellers  No.  1  in  the  SE.  14  NW.  *4  sec.  10,  and  Best  No.  1,  in  the  NE.  14 
sec.  10.  In  the  former  the  sands  were  found  at  107  feet  above  sea 
level,  and  in  the  latter,  at  76  feet;  thus  showing  a  continuation  of  the 
general  dip  noted  in  the  E.  y2  sec.  8. 

OIL  AND  GAS 
Sands 

Although  the  productive  sands  are  not  invariably  found  at  the  same 


, 


- 


CH.033 


<3.038 


.btofi  Mvriih  sD  rtv,ufv:  ;t  ol  3  r  not 

•  fi.  "I;  f  \  <>•)'  ?tw  •  .  10 


ILLINOIS  STATE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 


BULL.  NO.  20,  PLATE  IX 


CARLINVILLE  OIL  AND  GAS  FIELD 


89 


stratigraphic  position,  they  lie  near  the  base  of  the  ‘ '  Coal  Measures,  ’  ’  and 
are  believed  to  constitute  the  Pottsville  formation. 

A  study  of  the  well  logs  reveals  the  fact  that  no  single  sand  is  trace¬ 
able  throughout  the  field.  Adjacent  wells  do  not  show  the  same  strati¬ 
graphic  succession,  although  in  a  general  way  the  rocks  consist  of  shale, 
sandstone,  and  minor  amounts  of  limestone.  Furthermore,  the  produc¬ 
ing  sands  vary  in  thickness  from  2  or  3  feet  up  to  70  feet,  and  this 
change  occurs  within  comparatively  short  distances.  In  Klein  No.  2 
the  sand  is  apparently  absent,  and  in  its  place  is  a  sandy  shale  which 
lacks  sufficient  porosity  to  permit  the  accumulation  of  oil. 

In  view  of  the  irregularity  in  the  development  of  the  sands  it  seems 
best  not  to  attempt  the  correlation  of  individual  beds,  but  to  regard 
them  as  members  of  a  series  occurring  in  a  zone  about  70  feet  thick  and 
beginning  about  200  feet  below  coal  No.  6.  The  beds  in  this  zone  con¬ 
sist  chiefly  of  coarse  and  fine  sands,  but  the  local  thinning  out  of  the 
sands  is  due  probably  to  the  fact  that  at  the  time  of  deposition  the  sedi¬ 
ments  were  not  clear  sands,  but  a  mixture  of  sands,  muds,  and  silts. 
This  mixture  has  resulted  in  the  absence  here  and  there  of  sands  capable 
of  acting  as  reservoirs  for  commercial  amounts  of  oil  and  gas. 

In  many  of  the  wells,  the  productive  sand  is  separated  into  two  parts 
by  a  “break”  of  variable  thickness.  In  some  cases,  as  in  McClure  No.  3, 
the  “break”  marks  the  boundary  between  the  oil  and  gas. 

The  variability  in  the  thickness  of  the  productive  sands  is  due 
probably  not  so  much  to  a  change  in  the  amount  of  sand,  as  to  its  change 
in  character  from  place  to  place.  Oil  and  gas  naturally  accumulate  in 
the  more  porous  parts  of  a  sand,  leaving  the  compact  portions  practi¬ 
cally  dry. 

Production 

Until  November,  1911,  the  Carlinville  wells  were  known  chiefly  for 
gas.  V.  Hall  No.  1  produced  from  4  to  5  barrels  of  oil  daily,  but  this 
was  not  utilized  to  any  extent.  The  gas  wells  showed  an  initial  pressure 
of  about  135  pounds,  but  the  drain  on  the  supply,  together  with  the  addi¬ 
tional  drilling  in  the  gas  area,  has  reduced  the  pressure  to  about  35 
pounds. 

The  production  of  the  McClure  oil  wells  in  sec.  9,  T.  9  N.,  R.  7  W., 
has  not  been  determined  accurately.  None  of  the  wells  have  been  shot, 
and  the  drillers’  estimates  are  based  upon  the  showing  while  drilling  in. 
It  is  probable  that  McClure  Nos.  1  and  3  are  capable  of  producing  an 
average  of  10  barrels  daily. 

Development 

Table  34  shows  the  development  in  the  Carlinville  field,  and  contains 
well  data  gathered  from  various  operators  and  drillers: 


Table  34. — Partial  record  of  Carlinville  wells 


90 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


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ILLINOIS  STATE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 


BULL.  NO.  20,  PLATE  X 


3 


Structure  section  from  south  to  north  through  Cariinville  field. 
(For  location  see  Plate  VIII.) 


CARLINVILLE  OIL  AND  GAS  FIELD 


91 


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YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


Character  of  Oil  and  Gas 

The  gas  is  of  good  quality.  It  has  little  odor  and  burns  with  a  hot, 
blue  flame.  Mr.  Rinaker  reports  that  the  gas  in  Klein  No.  2  was  noted 
only  as  it  was  liberated  from  the  slightly  brackish  water  bailed  from  the 
lower  part  of  the  well.  When  ignited  at  the  top  of  the  bailer,  the  gas 
burned  with  a  faint  bluish  flame  and  with  an  odor  resembling  alcohol. 
The  water  freed  from  the  gas  settled  as  much  as  two  feet  in  the  bailer. 

The  oil  is  dark  brown  by  transmitted  light  and  nearly  black  by  re¬ 
flected  light.  Two  samples  from  V.  Hall  No.  1  and  McClure  No.  3  have 
a  specific  gravity  of  28.6°  Baume.  The  oil  is  similar  in  physical  respects, 
to  that  at  Duncanville,  Illinois,  which  is  utilized  almost  entirely  as  fuel. 

Relation  of  Oil  and  Gas  to  Structure 

It  is  generally  assumed  when  oil  and  gas  occur  near  the  top  of  a 
dome,  as  at  Carlinville,  that  they  are  held  in  position  by  the  salt  water 
below.  If  this  were  not  true  the  oil  would  settle  of  its  own  weight  into 
the  lowest  parts  of  the  productive  sand. 

In  case  the  oil  is  not  sufficiently  abundant  to  saturate  the  sands  above 
the  level  of  salt  water,  the  gas  occupies  the  crest  of  the  dome  above  the 
oil.  The  latter,  resting  on  the  salt  water  below,  holds  an  intermediate 
position  and,  in  most  cases,  is  charged  with  gas  from  above  because  of 
the  great  pressure  exerted  by  the  underlying  water. 

The  Carlinville  dome,  although  irregular  in  shape,  appears  to  con¬ 
form  in  general  to  the  ideal  dome.  The  gas  wells  are  located  at  or 
near  the  crest  of  the  fold.  Klein  No.  1  in  the  E.  y2  SE.  14  sec.  7, 
T.  9  N.,  R.  7  W.  reaches  the  sand  at  238  feet  above  sea  level.  The 
sands  in  the  V.  Hall  gas  wells,  sec.  8,  although  about  24  feet  lower  than 
in  Klein  No.  1,  do  not  reach  the  level  of  the  oil.  I11  some  cases,  the  gas 
sands  are  discolored  and  probably  show  the  former  presence  of  oil  at  a 
time  when  the  salt  water  level  was  somewhat  higher  than  at  present. 
As  the  water  level  was  lowered,  the  oil  settled  down  dip  by  its  own 
weight  and  drained  the  upper  part  of  the  sands,  leaving  them  discolored 
perhaps,  but  with  no  free  oil. 

The  gas  accompanying  brackish  water  in  Klein  No.  2  in  the  E.  y2 
NE.  14  sec.  8,  has  been  noted  on  a  previous  page.  Its  occurrence  is 
exceptional.  The  water  charged  with  gas  was  found  in  a  sand  at  a 
depth  of  450  feet,  or  130  feet  above  sea  level.  Thus  it  occurs  at  a  lower 
level  than  the  bulk  of  the  oil  and  gas  in  the  field. 

It  is  probable  that  a  very  small  fold  or  flattening  of  the  beds,  with 
steeper  dips  above  and  below,  occurs  in  the  vicinity  of  Klein  No.  2.  A 
small  amount  of  oil  and  gas  011  its  way  upward  to  the  top  of  the  water- 


CARLINVILLE  OIL  AND  GAS  FIELD 


93 


bearing  sand  did  not  reach  the  crest  of  the  dome,  but  was  trapped  in 
the  minor  fold  below.  The  pressure  developed  was  probably  sufficient 
to  cause  most  of  the  gas  to  be  dissolved  in  the  water,  where  it  was  held 
until  the  pressure  was  relieved  by  the  drilling  of  Klein  No.  2. 

The  oil  has  come  into  prominence  only  recently.  V.  Hall  No.  1  in 
the  NW.  SAY.  4=  sec.  8  and  McClure  Nos.  1  and  3  in  the  SAY.  14 
NE.  14  sec.  8  are  the  only  wells  so  placed  that  they  penetrate  the  zone 
of  free  oil.  These  wells  are  located  down  dip  from  the  top  of  the  dome, 
and  all  three  reach  oil  at  the  same  elevation  above  sea  level.  Up  to 
the  present  time,  no  commercial  amount  of  oil  has  been  found  in  the 
Carlinville  dome  at  a  higher  altitude  than  184  feet  above  sea  level.  The 
lower  limit  of  the  oil  sands  and  the  areas  regarded  as  most  favorable 
for  prospecting  will  be  discussed  under  a  later  heading. 

Since  salt  water  immediately  underlies  the  oil,  any  information  re¬ 
garding  its  position  is  of  utmost  importance.  Somewhat  unusual  con¬ 
ditions  exist  in  the  Carlinville  dome.  The  oil  sand  has  been  found  dry 
in  the  McClure  wells  at  162  feet  above  sea  level.  In  V.  Hall  N.  5 — 600 
feet  west  of  McClure  No.  1 — troublesome  salt  water  was  reached  at  an 
elevation  of  210  feet.  V.  Hall  No.  4  shows  salt  water  in  the  upper  part 
of  the  dome. 

It  is  almost  certain  that  these  higher  bodies  of  salt  water  are  not  part 
of  the  general  zone  of  saturation.  It  has  been  mentioned  above  that  the 
sands  are  more  or  less  irregular  or  lenticular.  Since  this  is  true,  it  is 
possible  that  certain  lenses  surrounded  by  impervious  beds  are  capable 
of  holding  salt  water  at  a  higher  level  than  would  be  possible  if  the 
sands  were  all  of  the  same  horizon  and  continuous. 

Another  explanation  for  the  higher  salt  water  in  the  V.  Hall  wells, 
attributes  the  “drowning”  of  the  sands  to  the  fact  that  no  effort  was 
made  to  shut  out  the  water  in  the  old  well  of  1867,  which  was  located 
near  the  east  quarter  corner  of  section  7.  So  far  as  can  be  learned,  this 
well  was  drilled  deep  enough  to  reach  salt  water,  and  upon  abandonment 
no  attempt  was  made  to  protect  the  adjacent  sands  from  “drowning.” 
It  is  probable  that  for  many  years  the  salt  water  has  percolated  slowl}T 
down  dip  from  the  well  and  has  affected  a  considerable  territory  in 
section  8. 

The  level  of  salt  water  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Carlinville  dome 
is  difficult  to  determine  accurately  from  the  available  data.  The  log  of 
Haacke  No.  1  in  the  SAY.  *4  NAY.  4=  sec.  17,  shows  salt  water  at  a  depth 


of  421  feet  or  156  feet  above  sea  level.  E.  AY.  Denby  No.  1  in  the  SE. 
cor.  NE.  14  sec.  7  reaches  salt  water  at  427  feet,  or  145  feet  above  sea 
level.  F.  Hall  No.  1  in  the  NAY.  14  SAY.  ]4  sec.  5,  T.  9  N.,  II.  7  AY.  taps 
the  same  horizon  at  a  depth  of  505  feet,  or  150  feet  above  the  sea. 


94 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


On  account  of  the  uncertain  thickness  of  the  sands,  great  care  must 
be  exercised  while  drilling,  in  order  not  to  tap  the  salt  water  after 
reaching  “pay.”  In  V.  Hall.  No.  5,  in  the  SE.  14  NW.  14  sec.  8, 
although  the  sand  was  penetrated  only  9  feet,  salt  water  was  present  011 
the  day  following  the  completion  of  the  well  and  has  continued  to  he 
very  troublesome.  McClure  Nos.  1  and  3  end  in  sand  only  a  few  feet 
above  the  general  level  of  salt  water  in  the  district,  and  any  attempt  at 
“shooting”  would  probably  admit  bottom  water. 

Probable  Extension  of  Field 

It  is  unwise  and,  in  fact,  impossible  to  predict  with  certainty,  the 
presence  of  oil  and  gas  in  any  given  locality.  The  Carlinville  field 
presents  difficulties  because  of  the  marked  irregularity  in  the  thickness 
and  character  of  the  sand.  However,  after  a  careful  study  of  all  avail¬ 
able  data,  it  is  possible  to  point  out  the  areas  in  which  the  geological 
structure  is  most  favorable  for  the  accumulation  of  these  materials. 

It  seems  reasonable  to  expect  oil  at  about  the  same  level  on  all  sides 
of  the  irregular  dome  at  distances  from  the  central  gas  area,  varying 
inversely  as  the  dip  of  the  oil  sands  (see  map,  Plate  VIII).  Because 
of  the  steep  dips  on  the  west  side,  the  productive  area  will  probably  be 
narrower  than  on  the  east  and  northeast  where  the  strata  dip  more 
gently.  Whether  or  not  oil  will  be  found  in  commercial  quantities  is 
a  question  which  can  be  settled  only  by  the  drill.  The  crest  of  the 
Carlinville  dome  has  been  tested  by  Klein  No.  1  in  the  E.  SE.  14 
sec.  7  and  the  V.  Hall  gas  wells  in  the  western  part  of  sec.  8.  Only 
V.  Hall  No.  1  and  McClure  Nos.  1  and  3  tap  the  body  of  oil  which  is 
believed  to  extend  around  the  irregular  elongated  dome.  The  salt  water 
wells  that  have  been  drilled  north,  west,  and  south  of  the  productive 
area,  together  with  the  apparent  rapid  dip  of  the  sands  away  from  the 
dome,  seem  to  signify  that  in  the  eastern  part  of  sec.  7  and  in  the  western 
part  of  sec.  8,  the  productive  zone  will  be  narrow,  and  the  location  of 
successful  oil  wells  most  difficult. 

On  the  north  side  of  the  dome  the  E.  y2  NW.  %  sec.  8  seems  to 
warrant  testing.  The  V.  Hall  farm  should  be  prospected  by  a  well 
located  on  the  south  side  of  Macoupin  Creek  near  the  east  line  of  the 
property.  The  McClure  farm,  upon  which  considerable  drilling  is  being 
done,  lies  along  the  main  axis  of  the  elongated  dome,  and  contains  the 
best  oil  wells  developed  in  the  field  up  to  the  present  time. 

While  the  attitude  of  the  sands  northeast  of  the  productive  area  is 
uncertain,  it  is  believed  that  the  dip  in  this  direction  is  more  gentle 
than  that  of  the  beds  west  of  the  dome.  If  this  is  true  the  sands  may 


CARLINYILLE  OIL  AND  GAS  FIELD 


95 


contain  oil  for  a  considerable  distance  northeast  of  the  present  area 
before  reaching  the  level  of  salt-water  saturation.  At  any  rate,  further 
prospecting  should  be  done  in  a  general  northeast  direction  from  Mc¬ 
Clure  Nos.  1  and  3. 

It  is  hoped  that  in  the  near  future  the  State  Geological  Survey  will 
be  able  to  undertake  further  detailed  investigations  in  Macoupin  County, 
in  an  effort  to  locate  other  districts  in  which  the  structure  is  favorable 
for  the  accumulation  of  oil  and  gas. 

The  Survey  is  always  glad  to  cooperate  with  oil  men  and  to  give  them 
the  benefit  of  any  studies  which  may  be  made.  To  this  end,  it  is  neces¬ 
sary  that  detailed  logs  be  kept  by  the  driller  with  careful  identification 
of  the  materials  passed  through  with  each  screw.  Any  detailed  informa¬ 
tion  furnished  by  the  operator  will  be  held  confidential  if  so  desired. 


THE  GEOLOGY  AND  MINERAL  RESOURCES  OF  THE 

SPRINGFIELD  QUADRANGLE 

By  T.  E.  Savage 

(IN  COOPERATION  WITH  U.  S.  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY) 


OUTLINE 

PAGE 

Introduction  .  99 

Location  and  importance  of  the  area .  99 

Acknowledgments  .  100 

Topography  .  100 

General  statement  .  100 

Surface  relief  .  101 

Drainage  .  101 

General  Geology  .  101 

Commercial  aspects  .  101 

Stratigraphy  .  102 

Kinds  of  rocks  in  the  area .  102 

Surficial  materials  .  102 

Indurated  rocks  .  102 

General  description .  102 

Pottsville  formation  .  103 

Carbondale  formation  .  103 

McLeansboro  formation  .  105 

Structure  .  106 

Methods  of  representing  structure .  106 

Accuracy  of  structure  contours .  109 

Use  of  structure  map .  109 

Structure  of  Springfield  quadrangle .  109 

Correlations  .  112 

Correlation  of  the  Springfield  and  Peoria  sections .  112 

Correlation  of  the  Springfield  and  Divernon  sections .  113 

Economic  Geology  .  115 

Coal  resources  .  115 

Coals  below  coal  No.  5 .  115 

Coal  No.  5 .  115 

Characteristics  of  coal  No.  5 .  115 

Clay  seams  in  coal  No.  5 .  116 

Origin  of  clay  seams .  117 

Concretions  above  coal  No.  5 .  119 

Coal  No.  6 . 119 

Coal  No.  7 .  119 

Coal  No.  8 .  120 

Coal  mines  .  122 

Mining  methods  and  equipment .  124 

(  97) 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


9* 


Sampling  and  chemical  analyses  of  coal  No.  5 .  123 

Clay  resources . 127 

General  statement . . .  127 

Shale  below  coal  No.  8 .  127 

Shale  above  coal  No.  8 .  128 

Surface  clays  .  130 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PLATE 


XI.  Map  showing  geologic  structure  of  the  Springfield  quadrangle .  108 

XII.  Stratigraphic  sections  from  the  Springfield  quadrangle .  112 

FIGURE 

1.  Shale  bed  a  short  distance  above  coal  No.  7,  exposed  in  the  south  bank  of 

Spring  Creek,  NE.  sec.  25,  T.  16  N.,  R.  6  W .  104 

2.  View  of  sandstone  below  coal  No.  8,  exposed  in  the  north  bank  of  Sangamon 

River  at  Carpenter’s  bridge,  NW.  14  sec.  1,  T.  16  N.,  R.  5  W .  105 

3.  Sketch  and  typical  clay  seam  or  “ horseback”  seen  in  mine  No.  5  of  Spring- 

field  Coal  Mining  Co.  near  Springfield .  116 

4.  Shale  overlying  limestone  above  coal  No.  8,  exposed  in  shale  pit  of  Spring- 

field  Paving  Brick  Co.  at  Springfield .  129 


TABLES 

35.  Locations  and  altitudes  of  observation  points .  108 

36.  Average  altitude  of  the  bottom  of  coal  No.  5  and  coal  No.  8  in  each  half 

township  of  the  Springfield  quadrangle .  Ill 

37.  Thickness  of  the  coal  beds  and  the  distances  between  them  in  mine  shafts 

and  borings  .  121 

38.  Coal  mines  of  the  Springfield  quadrangle .  123 

39.  Proximate  analyses  of  coal  No.  5  in  the  Springfield  quadrangle  and  vicinity  126 


THE  GEOLOGY  AND  MINERAL  RESOURCES  OF  THE 

SPRINGFIELD  QUADRANGLE 


INTRODUCTION 

Location  and  Importance  of  the  Area 

The  Springfield  quadrangle  embraces  a  rectangular  area  about  226 
square  miles  in  extent  in  the  vicinity  of  Springfield,  Illinois  (Plate  XI). 
It  is  situated  a  short  distance  west  of  the  center  of  the  State,  its  western 
border  lying  about  95  miles  east  of  Mississippi  River.  The  area  is  in¬ 
cluded  between  meridians  89°  30’  and  89°  45’  longitude,  and  between 
parallels  39°  45’  and  40°  0’  latitude.  It  has  a  length  of  about  17  miles 
and  a  width  of  about  13  miles.  The  greater  portion  of  the  quadrangle 
lies  within  the  borders  of  Sangamon  County,  north  of  which  there  are 
included  about  7  square  miles  in  the  southwest  part  of  Logan  County 
and  25  square  miles  in  the  southeast  corner  of  Menard. 

The  topographic  mapping  and  geological  work  in  the  area  has  been 
done  by  the  Illinois  Geological  Survey  in  cooperation  with  the  United 
States  Geological  Survey.  The  name  Springfield  was  applied  to  the 
quadrangle  from  the  city  of  Springfield,  the  county  seat  of  Sangamon 
County  and  capital  city  of  Illinois,  located  near  the  center  of  the  south 
half  of  the  area.  Riverton,  Athens,  Cantrall,  and  Spaulding  are  other 
towns  within  the  quadrangle. 

The  most  important  mineral  resources  of  the  Springfield  region  are 
coal  and  clay  or  shale.  Thirty  coal  mines  are  operated  within  the  area, 
the  combined  output  of  which  for  the  year  1910  exceeded  4,000,000  tons. 
All  the  coal  mined  within  the  quadrangle  is  taken  from  coal  bed  No.  5, 
the  Springfield  coal,  although  a  few  miles  south  of  the  area,  at  Auburn, 
Divernon,  and  Pawnee,  coal  No.  6  is  the  seam  worked.  The  entire  area 
is  underlain  by  the  coal  No.  5  within  easy  working  distance  below  the 
surface.  The  quality  of  the  coal  is  good  and  the  mining  conditions  are 
favorable. 

Extremely  good  distributing  facilities  are  afforded  by  the  presence 
of  the  following  railroads  within  the  quadrangle :  Chicago,  Peoria  and 
St.  Louis;  the  Chicago  and  Alton;  the  Illinois  Central;  the  Wabash;  the 
Cincinnati,  Hamilton,  and  Dayton ;  and  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  South¬ 
western.  Besides  these  railroads  there  are  interurban  lines  connecting 
Springfield  with  Decatur  to  the  east,  Peoria  and  Bloomington  to  the 
north,  and  St.  Louis  to  the  south. 


100 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


The  wealth  of  coal  deposits  and  the  excellent  markets  afforded  by 
the  numerous  railroads  have  given  to  the  city  of  Springfield  the  com¬ 
manding  place  it  holds  today,  and  insure  its  constantly  increasing  im¬ 
portance  as  an  industrial  center. 

Acknowledgments 

Brief  reports  on  the  geology  of  Menard  and  Logan  counties  were 
published  by  Bannister  1  in  1870.  Three  years  later  Worthen  2  pub¬ 
lished  a  general  report  on  the  geology  of  Sangamon  County.  Consider¬ 
able  information  concerning  the  coal  mines,  mining  equipment,  and 
statistics  on  coal  production  in  this  area  has  been  given  in  the  successive 
annual  coal  reports  of  the  Illinois  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics.  In  the 
study  of  the  glacial  geology  of  Illinois,  Leverett3  gave  a  short  description 
of  the  drainage,  depth  of  water  wells,  and  thickness  of  the  drift  in  Sanga¬ 
mon  County.  The  same  writer4  also  described  the  Sangamon  soil  and 
weathered  zone  that  lies  between  the  Illinoian  till  and  the  Iowan  loess 
in  this  region. 

The  present  writer5  has  discussed  the  water  resources  of  the  Spring- 
field  quadrangle  and  has  also  described  the  clay  seams  or  “ horsebacks”0 
in  coal  No.  5  in  this  region,  and  suggested  an  explanation  of  their  mode 
of  origin.  Much  of  our  knowledge  of  coal  No.  5  (Springfield  coal)  and 
of  the  overlying  strata  which  lie  so  deep  that  they  do  not  outcrop  in 
natural  exposures  within  the  area  and  the  details  of  structure  of  the 
strata  were  made  possible  only  through  the  cooperation  of  the  coal  opera¬ 
tors,  who  generously  furnished  to  the  Survey  copies  of  the  private 
records  of  their  mine  shafts  and  test  borings.  Acknowledgment  of  these 
favors  is  here  gladly  made. 


TOPOGRAPHY 
General  Statement 

The  moderate  surface  relief  of  the  region  is  favorable  for  transporta¬ 
tion,  the  construction  of  railroads,  and  the  development  of  mining  in 
every  part  of  the  quadrangle  (see  Plate  XI).  The  topographic  features 
present  in  the  area  are  of  four  distinct  types:  (1)  isolated  morainic 
mounds  or  hills,  present  only  near  the  northeast  corner;  (2)  upland 
prairies,  comprising  the  level,  unforested,  interstream  areas  which  in¬ 
clude  more  than  one-half  the  entire  quadrangle;  (3)  erosion  belts,  imme- 

1Bannister,  H.  M:  Geol.  Survey  of  Ill.  vol.  4,  pp.  163-189,  1870. 

2Worthen,  A.  H:  Geol.  Survey  of  Ill.  vol.  5,  pp.  306-319,  1873. 

3Leverett,  Frank,  Illinois  glacial  lobe:  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey  Mon.  38,  pp.  724-725,  1899. 

“Idem,  pp.  125-126.  Also  Proc.  Iowa  Acad,  of  Sci.  vol.  5,  pp.  71-30,  1897. 

5Savage,  T.  E. :  Ill.  State  Geol.  Survey  Bull.  4,  pp.  235-246,  1907. 

fiSavage,  T.  E.:  Economic  Geology,  vol.  5,  No.  2,  pp.  178-187,  Mar.,  1910. 


GEOLOGY  OF  SPRINGFIELD  QUADRANGLE 


101 


diately  bordering  the  larger  streams;  (4)  flood  plain  areas  of  variable 
width,  the  more  important  of  which  border  Sangamon  River,  South 
Fork,  Sugar  Creek,  and  Spring  Creek. 

The  details  of  the  topography  of  the  region  and  the  altitude  of  the 
surface  are  shown  by  contour  lines  on  the  topographic  map1  of  the  area. 
Each  of  these  lines  passes  through  points  of  equal  elevation  above  sea 
level.  The  successive  contour  lines  are  separated  on  the  ground  by  a 
vertical  interval  of  ten  feet.  The  location  of  the  streams,  township  and 
section  lines,  public  roads,  railroads,  towns,  and  houses  are  also  repre¬ 
sented  on  this  map. 

Surface  Relief 

The  range  of  relief  within  the  quadrangle  is  about  160  feet.  The 
altitude  over  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  area  is  included  between  the  eleva¬ 
tions  580  and  620  feet  above  sea  level.  The  highest  point,  about  645 
feet,  is  the  top  of  German  Hill  near  the  northeast  corner.  The  lowest 
point,  about  485  feet,  is  on  the  west  side  where  Sangamon  River  leaves 
the  area.  The  surface  is  that  of  a  comparatively  level,  drift-formed 
plain,  lying  at  an  elevation  of  about  600  to  620  feet  above  the  sea,  into 
which  the  larger  streams  have  cut  their  valleys  to  a  depth  of  75  to  150 
feet  below  the  uplands. 

Drainage 

Sangamon  River,  which  flows  in  a  general  westerly  direction  across 
the  middle  part  of  the  quadrangle,  controls  the  drainage  of  the  entire 
area.  It  has  an  average  width  of  about  200  feet,  and  a  depth  varying 
between  seasons  of  drought  and  flood  from  1  to  20  feet  in  the  shallower 
portions,  and  10  to  30  feet  in  the  deeper  places.  The  discharge  ranges 
from  200  to  10,000  cubic  feet  per  second. 

The  larger  tributary  streams  of  the  Sangamon  within  the  area  are, 
South  Fork,  Sugar  Creek,  and  Spring  Creek  on  the  south  and  Wolf, 
Fancy,  and  Cantrall  creeks  on  the  north. 

GENERAL  GEOLOGY 
Commercial  Aspects 

The  economic  value  of  a  study  of  the  geology  of  a  region  consists 
in  the  determination  of  the  character,  conditions  of  occurrence,  avail¬ 
ability,  and  distribution  of  the  important  deposits  that  occur  in  the  area. 

In  the  investigation  of  coal  resources  it  is  important  to  know  the 
number  and  extent  of  the  beds ;  the  thickness  and  depth  below  the  surface 
of  each  of  these  at  various  points ;  the  defects  of  the  beds ;  and  the  quality 

1Copies  of  this  map  can  be  obtained  from  the  Director,  State  Geological  Survey,  Urbana, 
Ill.;  or  the  Director,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Washington,  D.  C.,  for  10  cents  each. 


102 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


of  the  coals.  A  knowledge  of  the  structure  of  the  coals  and  associated 
strata  including  the  dips  and  deformations  of  the  beds,  and  the  character 
of  the  layers  that  underlie  and  overlie  the  coals  are  also  highly  important 
factors  in  determining  the  location  of  mine  shafts  and  in  forming  an 
intelligent  estimate  of  the  expense  of  mining.  In  the  study  of  clay  beds, 
a  knowledge  of  the  character,  quality,  and  extent  of  the  material;  the 
amount  and  character  of  the  overburden ;  the  accessibility  of  fuel  sup¬ 
plies  ;  and  the  facilities  for  marketing  the  wares  is  very  important. 

Information  of  the  character  mentioned  above  can  be  obtained  only 
by  a  careful  study  of  the  rocks  of  the  region  where  the  valuable  deposits 
occur  and  with  which  they  are  associated. 

Stratigraphy 

KINDS  OF  ROCKS  IN  THE  AREA 

The  rocks  of  the  Springfield  quadrangle  consist  of:  (1)  surficial 
materials,  composed  of  unconsolidated  beds  of  glacial  till  or  drift,  loess, 
sand,  and  alluvium  which  have  been  derived  from  the  breaking  down  of 
pre-existing  rocks;  and  (2)  sedimentary  rocks,  which  underlie  the  sur¬ 
ficial  materials  and  consist  of  more  or  less  consolidated  beds  of  sandstone, 
shale,  limestone,  and  seams  of  coal,  arranged  in  nearly  horizontal  layers. 

SURFICIAL  MATERIALS 

The  surficial  materials  in  this  area  comprise  glacial,  aeolian,  and 
fluvial  deposits,  which  cover  the  sedimentary  rocks  to  an  average  depth 
of  about  35  feet.  They  are  thinnest  over  the  areas  that  formed  the  high¬ 
lands  in  pre-glacial  time  and  are  thickest  above  the  valleys  of  the  early 
Pleistocene  streams.  Sangamon  River  follows  such  an  old  valley  along 
its  northward  course  near  the  west  side  of  the  quadrangle.  Over  this 
valley  a  well  in  the  NW.  14  sec.  23,  T.  18  N.,  R.  6  W.  was  put  down  170 
feet  without  reaching  the  bottom  of  the  surficial  materials.  The  altitude 
of  the  bottom  of  this  drilling  was  125  feet  lower  than  the  surface  of  the 
consolidated  rocks  two  miles  further  east. 

INDURATED  ROCKS 
GENERAL  DESCRIPTION 

The  hard  rocks  of  this  region  have  been  studied  in  natural  exposures 
through  a  thickness  of  225  feet.  By  means  of  test  borings  for  coal  and 
oil  they  have  been  explored  to  a  depth  of  1,500  feet.  Columnar  sections 
of  the  logs  of  representative  coal  shafts  and  test  borings  are  given  in 
Plate  XII.  These  show  in  detail  the  character  and  sequence  of  the  strata 
that  underlie  the  surface  materials  as  far  as  they  have  been  explored  in 


GEOLOGY  OF  SPRINGFIELD  QUADRANGLE 


103 


this  region.  All  the  information  concerning  the  rocks  underlying  the 
Pennsylvanian  strata  in  this  area  is  obtained  from  a  drilling  near  Spring- 
field,  a  log  of  which  is  shown  in  section  1,  Plate  XII.  The  succession  and 
geological  position  of  these  rocks  are  also  shown  in  the  following  general¬ 
ized  section. 


Generalized  section  of  hard  rocks  known  in  the 
Springfield  quadrangle 


Thickness 


Feet 

Carboniferous  system — 

Pennsylvanian  series — 

McLeansboro  formation — including  all  of  the  Pennsylvanian  strata 
above  the  top  of  coal  No.  6,  and  composed  of  shales,  sandstones, 

some  impure  limestones,  and  thin  coals .  46-225 

Carbondale  formation — embracing  all  of  the  strata  between  the  base 
of  coal  No.  2  and  the  top  of  coal  No.  6;  and  consisting  of 
shales,  sandstones,  limestone,  and  productive  coal  beds;  about.  .  243 

Pottsville  formation — comprising  the  strata  between  the  bottom  of 
the  Pennsylvanian  and  the  base  of  coal  No.  2,  and  composed 
mostly  of  sandstones  in  the  lower  and  shales  in  the  upper  part, 

with  interbedded  thin  coals;  about .  278 

Mississippian  series — 

Salem  and  St.  Louis  formations — predominantly  limestones  with 

some  shales;  about .  215 

Keokuk  and  Warsaw  formations — dominantly  shales  with  some 

limestones;  about  .  164 

Burlington  formation — cherty  limestones  and  chert;  about .  106 

Kinderhook  formation — greenish  to  bluish-gray  shale,  limestone 

and  red  shaly  limestone;  about .  155 

Devonian  system — 

Upper  Devonian  series — dark  shale  with  spores  of  Sporangites  abundant; 

about  .  133 

Middle  Devonian  series — (Hamilton  of  Iowa  or  Northwest  province) 

gray  limestone;  to  bottom  of  boring .  28+ 


POTTSVILLE  FORMATION 

Pottsville  strata  comprising  the  base  of  the  Pennsylvanian  series 
have  been  explored  in  three  deep  borings.  They  consist  of  coarse,  gray 
sandstone  and  some  conglomerate  in  the  lower  part,  and  shales  or  sandy 
shales  predominating  in  the  middle  and  upper  portions.  A  thin  coal  bed 
lies  about  140  feet  from  the  base,  and  a  somewhat  thicker  coal  about  100 
feet  above  the  former  and  33  feet  below  the  bottom  of  coal  No.  2. 


CARBONDALE  FORMATION 

It  has  seemed  desirable  by  the  Survey  to  use  the  name  Carbondale 
as  a  substitute  for,  and  to  make  it  embrace  all  of  the  strata  that  were 
included  in,  both  the  Petersburg  and  the  La  Salle  formations  as  described 
in  a  previous  report.1  This  is  the  important  coal-bearing  formation  in 

1DeWolf,  F.  W.,  Introduction  to  studies  of  Illinois  coal:  Ill.  State  Geol.  Survey  Bull.  16, 
p.  180,  1910. 


104 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


the  State.  Its  basal  member,  coal  No.  2,  consists  usually  of  two  thin 
beds  separated  by  about  4  feet  of  dark  shale.  Above  this  coal  is  a  shale 
which  is  followed  by  sandstone,  and  that  succeeded  by  dark-colored  shale 
up  to  an  18-inch  coal  bed,  about  80  feet  above  coal  No.  2.  Between  this 
coal  and  the  next  higher  coal  bed  is  an  interval  of  about  55  feet,  occupied 
almost  exclusively  by  dark  shale.  Above  this  coal  gray  or  blue  to  black 
shales  extend  to  coal  No.  5  which  lies  about  54  feet  above  the  next  lower 
coal. 

Coal  No.  5  (Springfield  coal)  is  the  important  coal  seam  in  this 
region  and  has  an  average  thickness  of  about  6  feet.  It  contains  numer- 


Fig.  1.  Shale  bed  a  short  distance  above  coal  No.  7,  exposed  in  the  south  bank  of 
Spring  Creek,  NE.  sec.  25,  T.  16  N.,  R.  6  W. 


ous  characteristic  clay  seams  or  “horsebacks”  which  extend  down  into 
it,  or  through  it,  in  a  more  or  less  vertical  direction.  The  roof  of  this 
coal  consists  of  3  to  5  feet  of  black,  laminated,  fissile  shale  bearing 
numerous  shells  of  0 rbiculoidea  missouriensis  and  other  fossils,  and  con¬ 
taining  in  the  lower  part  numerous  rounded  nodules  (“niggerheads”) 
of  calcareous  pyritic  shale.  A  limestone  cap  rock,  generally  about  12 
inches  thick,  overlies  the  black  shale,  and  is  followed  by  1  to  4  feet  of 
light-colored  shale.  Coal  No.  6  lies  about  50  feet  above  coal  No.  5,  and, 
with  the  exception  of  the  No.  5  cap  rock,  the  strata  lying  between  these 
coals  are  mostly  shale. 


GEOLOGY  OF  SPRINGFIELD  QUADRANGLE 


105 


Within  the  quadrangle  coal  No.  6  is  only  2  to  14  inches  thick,  but 
it  becomes  thicker  and  has  been  mined  at  Mechanicsburg  to  the  east  and 
at  Chatham  to  the  south,  only  a  short  distance  from  the  borders  of  this 
area. 

MCLEANSBORO  FORMATION 

The  roof  shale  of  coal  No.  6,  the  basal  member  of  the  McLeansboro 
formation,  is  3  to  5  feet  thick.  It  is  followed  by  about  6  feet  of  limestone 
which  contains  Fusulina  ventricosa  as  the  characteristic  fossil.  A  thin 
coal  (No.  7)  3  or  4  inches  thick,  occurs  about  45  feet  above  the  No.  6  bed. 
Between  these  coals  are  several  feet  of  red,  mottled  shales  which  are  ex¬ 
posed  at  Kails  Ford  on  Sangamon  River,  and  constitute  a  very  charac- 


Fig.  2.  View  of  sandstone  below  coal  No.  8,  exposed  in  the  north  bank  of  San¬ 
gamon  river  at  Carpenter’s  bridge,  NW.  %  sec.  I,  T.  16  N.,  K.  5  W. 


teristic  and  easily  recognized  horizon  throughout  this  region.  The  shale 
may,  for  convenience,  be  called  the  Ralls  Ford  shale  member.  Above 
coal  No.  7  there  follows  a  bed  of  bluish-gray  shale  with  occasional  sandy 
layers  about  45  feet  thick,  exposed  in  the  south  bank  of  Spring  Creek 
in  the  NE.  14  sec.  25,  T.  16  S.,  R.  6  W.,  and  shown  in  figure  1. 

Over  a  very  limited  area  near  the  extreme  northwest  corner  of  the 
quadrangle  there  outcrops  along  Indian  Creek  about  6  feet  of  hard,  gray, 
partly  brecciated  limestone  which  is  better  exposed  in  the  banks  of  Rock 
Creek  a  few  miles  west  of  Athens.  This  limestone  is  thought  to  corres¬ 
pond  with  the  Lonsdale  quarry  limestone  in  the  Peoria  quadrangle. 
Over  the  greater  portion  of  the  Springfield  area  this  limestone  is  want- 


106 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


ing,  but  its  place  appears  to  be  at  the  top  of  the  shale  bed  above  coal 
No.  7. 

Above  this  shale  are  30  or  more  feet  of  sandstone  exposed  in  the 
north  bank  of  Sangamon  River  at  Carpenters  bridge,  NW.  *4  sec.  1,  T. 
16  N.,  R.  5  W.  (see  figure  2).  A  few  feet  of  shale  separates  this  sand¬ 
stone  from  coal  No.  8  and  associated  beds. 

Coal  No.  8,  the  under  clay  below,  and  the  roof  shale  and  cap  rock 
above,  comprise  a  succession  of  strata  that  are  easily  recognized  in  the 
logs  of  mine  shafts  and  test  borings  in  the  central  and  eastern  portions 
of  the  area.  They  outcrop  in  the  west  bank  of  Sugar  Creek,  sec.  13,  T. 
15  N.,  R.  5  W. ;  in  the  south  bank  of  Sangamon  River,  sec.  6,  T.  16  N. 
R.  4  W. ;  and  in  the  east  bank  of  Fancy  Creek,  sec.  13,  T.  17  N.,  R.  4  W. 

Above  the  limestone  overlying  coal  No.  8  is  40  or  50  feet  of  shale 
exposed  in  the  shale  pit  of  the  Springfield  Paving  Brick  Co.  near  Spring- 
field  as  shown  in  figure  4.  This  is  followed  by  about  35  feet  of  sand¬ 
stone  which  outcrops  along  Sangamon  River  near  the  middle  of  sec.  4, 
T.  15  N.,  R.  4  W.  and  in  the  south  half  of  sec.  27,  T.  16  N.,  R.  4  W. 

Belonging  a  few  feet  above  this  sandstone  is  the  Crow’s  Mill  lime¬ 
stone,  exposed  in  the  old  quarry  near  Crow’s  Mill  along  Sugar  Creek 
about  3  miles  south  of  the  quadrangle.  This  is  a  hard  limestone,  bear¬ 
ing  large  shells  of  Productus,  Spirifer,  and  Composita.  It  occurs  in 
heavy  layers,  large  masses  of  which,  more  or  less  shifted  by  the  ice  sheets 
of  the  glacial  period,  are  present  in  the  area  under  discussion. 

Structure 

METHOD  OF  REPRESENTING  STRUCTURE 

The  structure  of  rocks  may  be  represented  either  by  cross-sections 
or  by  contour  lines.  Cross-sections  are  best  for  a  region  in  which  the 
rocks  are  much  faulted  or  very  strongly  folded;  but  where  the  folds 
are  low  and  there  is  little  or  no  faulting,  the  use  of  contour  lines  shows 
the  structure  more  clearly.  In  this  region  the  layers  of  rock  are  nearly 
horizontal  but  have  a  general  eastward  dip  of  a  few  feet  per  mile,  which 
is  interrupted  by  low  folds  and  local  small  irregularities. 

On  the  accompanying  map  (Plate  XI)  the  structure  of  this  region 
is  represented  by  contour  lines,  the  altitude  of  coal  No.  5  having  been 
used  as  the  base.  The  altitude  of  this  coal  was  determined  in  many 
places  from  the  logs  of  mine  shafts  and  coal  test  borings,  and  by  com¬ 
putations  from  the  altitude  of  outcrops  of  coal  No.  8  or  of  some  other 
easily  recognized  stratum,  the  average  distance  between  which  and  coal 
No.  5  is  known. 


GEOLOGY  OF  SPRINGFIELD  QUADRANGLE 


107 


The  elevation  of  coal  No.  5  in  the  various  borings  and  mine  shafts 
was  determined  as  follows :  The  altitude  of  the  top  of  the  several  test 
holes  and  mine  shafts  was  generally  found  by  hand  leveling  from  the 
nearest  bench  mark.  Where  no  bench  mark  was  found  near  the  boring 
or  shaft,  the  surface  elevation  was  determined  bv  aneroid  barometer 
reading  which  was  checked  with  the  nearest  bench  mark.  From  the  sur¬ 
face  altitude  of  each  hole,  was  subtracted  the  depth  to  the  bottom  of 
coal  No.  5  in  the  respective  places  as  given  in  the  logs. 

In  estimating  the  altitude  of  coal  No.  5  from  outcrops  of  coal  No. 
8,  the  elevation  of  the  No.  8  bed  at  the  several  places  was  determined  in 
the  same  manner  as  for  the  surface  elevation  of  the  shafts  and  test  bor¬ 
ings.  From  these  figures  was  subtracted  the  average  distance  between 
coal  No.  8  and  coal  No.  5. 

The  greater  part  of  the  surface  data  on  which  the  map  is  based  is 
shown  in  Table  35. 


108 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


Table  35. — Locations  and  altitudes  of  observation  points 


Location 

Map 

No. 

Feet  above 
sea  level  of 
bottom  of 
coal  No.  5 

Method  of 
determination 
of  elevationa 

T.  N. 

E.  W. 

Sec. 

18 

5 

36 

1 

407 

L 

17 

4 

17 

1 

325 

L 

17 

4 

31 

1 

336 

C 

17 

4 

35 

1 

311 

L 

17 

5 

8 

1 

390 

L 

17 

5 

9 

1 

378 

C 

17 

5 

9 

2 

381 

G 

17 

5 

27 

1 

373 

L 

17 

5 

36 

1 

346 

L 

17 

6 

1 

1 

394 

L 

16 

4 

4 

1 

330 

L 

16 

4 

5 

1 

338 

C 

16 

4 

8 

1 

338 

L 

16 

4 

9 

1 

320 

Jj 

16 

4 

10 

1 

312 

L 

16 

5 

12 

1 

330 

L 

16 

5 

13 

1 

350 

L 

16 

5 

13 

2 

348 

L 

16 

5 

14 

1 

332 

L 

16 

5 

14 

2 

335 

L 

16 

5 

19 

1 

365 

L 

16 

5 

20 

1 

379 

E 

16 

5 

21 

1 

360 

L 

16 

5 

23 

1 

335 

L 

16 

5 

24 

1 

336 

L 

16 

5 

24 

9 

340 

L 

16 

5 

29 

1 

380 

L 

16 

5 

31 

1 

397 

L 

16 

5 

32 

1 

385 

1, 

16 

5 

32 

2 

386 

C 

16 

5 

32 

3 

391 

C 

16 

5 

35 

1 

372 

L 

15 

4 

5 

1 

335 

L 

15 

r- 

o 

1 

1 

336 

L 

15 

5 

3 

1 

352 

L 

15 

5 

3 

O 

L* 

353 

L 

15 

5 

5 

1 

365 

E 

15 

5 

9 

1 

351 

L 

15 

5 

12 

1 

346 

C 

15 

5 

13 

1 

344 

C 

aL,  Hand  level;  E,  Estimated  from  topographic  map;  C,  Calculated  from  average  distance 
from  some  known  stratum,  the  altitude  of  which  was  determined  by  barometer. 


Between  the  locations  at  which  the  elevations  of  coal  No.  5  were 
determined  the  dip  is  assumed  to  be  uniform.  Hence,  on  the  structure 
map  a  line  connecting  all  of  the  known  points  at  which  coal  No.  5  occurs 
at  an  altitude  of  400  feet  above  sea  level  constitutes  the  400-foot  contour 
line.  In  the  same  manner  all  of  the  points  at  which  this  coal  was  found 
to  lie  375  feet  above  the  sea  are  connected  by  the  375-foot  contour  line, 
and  so  on.  A  dip  or  25  feet  is  indicated  between  any  two  adjacent 
contour  lines. 


GEOLOGY  OF  SPRINGFIELD  QUADRANGLE 


109 


ACCURACY  OF  STRUCTURE  CONTOURS 

The  accuracy  of  the  structure  contours  on  the  map  depends  upon 
the  accuracy  of  the  surface  elevations  obtained,  the  variation  from  the 
average  distance  between  coal  No.  5  and  coal  No.  8  as  used  in  the  calcu¬ 
lations,  and  upon  the  number  and  distribution  of  the  places  at  which 
the  altitude  of  coal  No.  5  was  determined. 

In  this  area  bench  marks  are  numerous  and  consequently  the  hand 
level  and  barometer  determinations  involved  only  short  horizontal  dis¬ 
tances  and  small  probabilities  of  error.  The  distance  between  coal  No. 
5  and  coal  No.  8  in  this  region  does  not  vary  more  than  a  few  feet  from 
the  average,  so  that  the  error  arising  from  this  is  very  small.  The  num¬ 
ber  of  points  at  which  the  altitude  of  coal  No.  5  was  determined  is  not 
so  great  as  might  be  desired,  but  they  are  fairly  well  distributed,  which 
tends  to  reduce  the  inaccuracies  arising  from  this  factor.  When  all  the 
possibilities  of  error  are  allowed,  it  is  thought  that  the  structure  lines 
are  correct  within  a  contour  interval,  and  that  the  general  altitude  or 
“lay”  of  coal  No.  5,  and  thus  the  general  structure  of  the  Pennsylvanian 
strata  in  this  area  is  essentially  as  shown  on  the  map.  Minor  irregu¬ 
larities  less  than  25  feet  in  vertical  height  may  not  be  represented. 

USE  OF  THE  STRUCTURE  MAP 

The  structure  map  is  of  practical  use  in  connection  with  the  topo¬ 
graphic  map  of  the  area  as  a  means  of  determining  the  approximate 
depth  of  coal  No.  5  below  the  surface  at  any  place.  From  the  contour 
lines  on  the  structure  map  the  altitude  above  sea  level  of  the  bottom  of 
coal  No.  5  at  an}'  place  can  be  approximately  found;  from  the  topo¬ 
graphic  map  the  altitude  of  the  surface  at  the  same  place  in  the  quad¬ 
rangle  can  be  readily  determined.  The  difference  between  this  surface 
altitude  and  the  elevation  of  coal  No.  5  will  represent  the  approximate 
depth  below  the  surface  of  coal  No.  5  at  the  specified  place.  The  struc¬ 
ture  map  also  shows  the  direction  and  amount  of  dip  of  the  strata  in 
the  different  parts  of  the  area,  a  knowledge  of  which  is  most  essential 
in  all  mining  operations. 


STRUCTURE  OF  THE  SPRINGFIELD  QUADRANGLE 

In  this  area  the  highest  altitude  at  which  coal  No.  5  is  known  to 
occur  in  mine  shafts  is  407  feet  at  the  Wabash  Coal  Company’s  mine 
at  Athens.  The  lowest  known  altitude,  31 1  feet,  is  in  the  shaft  of  the 
Barclay  Coal  Mining  Company,  near  the  east  border  of  the  area.  Along 
a  line  from  Athens  to  Riverton,  in  a  direction  nearly  due  southeast,  the 
dip  of  coal  No.  5  towards  the  southeast  is  somewhat  uniform,  as  shown 


110 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


by  the  altitude  of  this  coal  in  mine  shafts  at  the  following  points: 
Athens,  407  feet;  Cantrall,  390  feet;  Andrew,  373  feet;  Peabody,  346 
feet;  Riverton  (mine  No.  1),  320  feet.  The  distance  between  Athens 
and  Riverton  is  about  12  1-3  miles.  The  difference  in  the  altitude  of 
this  coal  between  the  two  places  is  87  feet,  the  average  dip  of  coal 
No.  5  towards  the  southeast  being  nearly  8  feet  per  mile.  The  eastward 
dip  of  the  strata  between  Cantrall,  where  the  bottom  of  coal  No.  5  is 
reached  at  390  feet  altitude,  and  Selbytown,  where  the  same  bed  lies  at 
an  altitude  of  325  feet,  is  65  feet.  The  distance  between  these  places 
is  6  miles,  and  the  average  eastward  dip  for  this  distance  is  about  11 
feet  per  mile. 

The  calculated  altitude  of  coal  No.  5  at  Ralls  Ford  is  424  feet;  the 
altitude  of  this  coal  in  mine  No.  2  at  Riverton,  11  miles  due  east  of 
Ralls  Ford,  is  318  feet.  This  difference  would  indicate  an  eastward  dip 
of  106  feet  in  a  distance  of  11  miles  or  an  average  slope  of  nearly  10 
feet  per  mile. 

The  general  slope  of  the  strata  from  north  to  south  is  much  less 
steep  than  that  from  west  to  east.  From  Cantrall,  where  the  altitude 
of  coal  No.  5  is  390  feet,  to  the  shaft  of  mine  “A”  of  the  Citizens  Coal 
Mining  Company,  where  its  altitude  is  386  feet,  is  a  distance  of  10  miles 
in  a  direction  nearly  due  south.  This  would  indicate  a  southward  dip  of 
only  4  feet  in  10  miles  or  an  average  of  only  5  inches  to  the  mile. 
South  of  mine  “A”  of  the  Citizens  Coal  Mining  Company  the  dip 
increases  somewhat.  In  a  boring  iy2  miles  south  of  this  shaft  the  base 
of  coal  No.  5  was  found  at  an  altitude  of  364  feet,  which  indicates  a 
dip  of  about  15  feet  per  mile  between  these  places.  The  rate  of  dip  at 
different  points  varies  considerably  from  the  above  figures.  In  some 
places  coal  No.  5  lies  almost  level  over  a  few  square  miles,  whereas 
locally  the  dip  may  exceed  20  feet  per  mile.  It  will  be  seen  from  the 
structure  map  that  in  the  northern  part  of  the  area  the  dip  of  the  strata 
is  quite  uniform,  but  in  the  southern  part  a  marked  deformation  is 
apparent. 

In  Table  36  the  general  eastward  dip  in  both  the  coal  beds  is  ap¬ 
parent  from  the  series  of  altitudes  in  each  half  township  width  across 
the  quadrangle  in  an  east-west  direction,  and  in  the  general  average 
elevations  by  half  townships.  The  slight  southward  inclination  of  both 
coal  beds  along  the  middle  part  of  the  quadrangle  is  brought  out  in  the 
second  and  third  columns.  The  local  variations  in  the  altitudes  in  the 
east  and  west  portions  of  the  quadrangle,  which  disturb  the  general 
southward  inclination  of  the  strata  appear  from  columns  1,  4,  and  5. 
The  total  number  of  places  at  which  the  altitude  of  coal  No.  5  is  known 
is  40.  The  average  altitude  of  the  bottom  of  this  coal  bed  for  all  of 


GEOLOGY  OF  SPRINGFIELD  QUADRANGLE 


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YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


these  places  is  356  feet.  The  extreme  difference  in  the  altitudes  of  this 
coal  bed  within  the  quadrangle  is  113  feet.  The  altitude  of  coal  No.  8 
has  been  determined  at  16  places.  This  coal  bed  is  separated  from 
coal  No.  5  by  an  average  distance  of  175  feet.  At  a  place  one  mile  east 
of  Cantrall  the  altitude  of  coal  No.  8  is  563  feet,  whereas  at  Selbytown, 
5 y2  miles  farther  east,  the  altitude  of  this  bed  is  514  feet.  This  would 
give  to  coal  No.  8  an  eastward  slope  of  about  10  feet  per  mile.  In  a 
north  and  south  direction  the  general  altitude  of  coal  No.  8  in  Tps.  15, 
16,  and  17  N.  Rs.  5  and  4  W.,  averaged  for  the  east  and  west  half  of 
each  township,  may  be  seen  by  referring  to  Table  36.  The  figures  indi¬ 
cate  that  the  strongest  inclination  of  coal  No.  8  is  towards  the  east ;  that 
it  dips  southward  along  the  middle  range  of  townships  in  the  quad¬ 
rangle,  but  that  this  general  southward  slope  is  disturbed  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  area.  The  structure  of  coal  No.  8  agrees  for  the  most  part 
with  the  general  direction  and  degree  of  inclination  of  coal  No.  5,  and 
it  also  partakes  to  a  large  extent  of  the  irregularities  of  dip  displayed 
by  that  bed. 

Correlations 

CORRELATION  OF  THE  SPRINGFIELD  AND  PEORIA  SECTIONS 

Coal  No.  5  (Springfield)  which  is  mined  in  both  the  Springfield 
and  Peoria  districts,  presents  in  each  area  many  characteristic  '‘horse¬ 
backs”  in  the  form  of  branching,  clay-filled  fissures.  The  abundance 
of  these  “horsebacks”  in  the  coal  bed,  the  absence  of  any  persistent 
clay  parting  or  “blue  band”  in  the  coal,  the  similarity  of  the  roof  shale 
and  cap  rock  and  of  the  general  succession  of  the  beds  above  the  coal  in 
the  two  areas  make  it  practically  certain  that  this  coal  represents  an 
equivalent  stratum  in  the  two  localities. 

The  resemblance  in  the  succession  of  the  Pennsylvanian  strata  above 
coal  No.  5  in  the  two  areas  will  appear  from  a  study  of  the  columnar 
sections  2  and  3  of  Plate  XII.  Number  2  is  a  generalized  section  ot 
the  Pennsylvania  strata  in  the  Peoria  quadrangle,  compiled  from  the 
report  by  Dr.  Udden  on  that  area.  That  part  of  number  3  above  coal 
No.  5  is  a  generalized  section  of  the  Pennsylvanian  beds  in  the  Spring- 
field  quadrangle  compiled  from  the  natural  exposures  and  from  the  logs 
of  several  mine  shafts  and  borings  in  the  area.  The  portion  of  number  3 
below  coal  No.  5  is  compiled  from  records  of  drillings  made  near  Spring- 
field  and  at  Riverton.  It  will  be  seen  from  the  detailed  comparison 
of  these  columnar  sections,  that  the  succession  of  beds  between  coal 
No.  5  and  the  Lonsdale  quarry  limestone  in  the  Peoria  region  corres¬ 
ponds  closely  with  that  of  the  strata  in  the  Springfield  area  lying  be¬ 
tween  coal  No.  5  and  the  Rock  Creek  limestone.  The  shale  above  coal 


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LIST  OF  BECORDS  SHOWING  LOCATIONS 


L  Diamond  drill.  SE.  Vi  see.  5,  T.  15  N.,  B.  5  W. 

2.  Generalized  Peoria  section 

3.  Generalized  Springfield  section 

4.  Madison  Coal  Company,  shaft  No.  6,  Dirernon 

5.  Mechaniesburg  mine  shaft 

6.  Springfield  Colliery  Company  shaft.  SW.  Vi  see,  13.  T.  16  N.,  B.  5  W. 

7.  Williamson  Coal  Company  shaft,  NW.  Vi  see.  20,  T.  17  N.,  B.  4  W. 


SLACK  SHALE 


Stratigraphic  sections  from  the  Springfield  quadrangle. 


GEOLOGY  OF  SPRINGFIELD  QUADRANGLE 


113 


No.  5  in  each  area  bears  similar  fossils,  and  is  hard,  black,  and  finely 
laminated,  and  contains  numerous  small  lenses,  and  thin  bands  of  light- 
colored  material  intercalated  between  the  laminae  of  the  shale.  The 
limestone  cap  rock  above  coal  No.  5  in  the  two  areas  is  similar  in  charac¬ 
ter,  thickness,  and  fossil  content. 

Coal  No.  6  in  the  Springfield  area  occurs  50  to  60  feet  above  coal 
No.  5  while  in  the  Peoria  region  the  distance  between  coal  No.  5  and 
the  next  higher  bed  is  75  feet.  The  interval  between  coals  No.  5  and  No.  6 
is  in  general  greater  towards  the  north,  decreasing  in  a  southward 
direction.  This  will  appear  on  comparing  columnar  sections  No.  6  with 
No.  7  in  Plate  XII.  It  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  at  Petersburg,  a  few 
miles  northwest  of  the  Springfield  area,  this  interval  is  60  feet.  At 
Selbytown  this  interval  is  also  60  feet.  Farther  south  in  the  shaft  of 
the  Spring  Creek  Coal  Company,  the  coal  No.  6  lies  41  feet  above  coal 
No.  5,  and  in  the  Divernon  shaft  the  interval  is  39  feet. 

Coal  No.  6,  both  in  the  Peoria  region  and  the  Mechanicsburg  mine, 
shows  a  distinct  clay  band  (“blue  band7’)  several  inches  below  the  mid¬ 
dle  of  the  bed.  But  it  does  not  show  the  peculiar  clay  seams  or  “horse¬ 
backs”  that  are  so  common  in  coal  No.  5. 

Between  coal  No.  6  and  the  next  higher  persistent  bed  in  both  the 
Peoria  and  Springfield  regions  there  is  a  prominent  bed  of  red  shale, 
Rail’s  Ford  shale  member,  which  is  a  characteristic  stratum. 

A  thin  coal  (No.  7)  occurs  in  the  Springfield  quadrangle  at  an 
average  distance  of  50  feet  above  coal  No.  6,  and  about  100  feet  above 
coal  No.  5.  In  the  Peoria  region  a  corresponding  coal  bed  is  found  40 
feet  above  coal  No.  6  and  110  feet  above  coal  No.  5. 

In  the  Peoria  quadrangle  the  Lonsdale  quarry  limestone,  which  is 
light  colored,  rough  fractured,  more  or  less  brecciated,  and  somewhat 
crinoidal,  lies  about  54  feet  above  coal  No.  7  and  164  feet  above  coal 
No.  5.  In  the  Springfield  quadrangle  the  Rock  Creek  limestone  occurs 
about  57  feet  above  coal  No.  7  and  157  feet  above  coal  No.  5.  The  lithology 
of  the  rock  in  the  two  areas  is  quite  similar  and  the  fossils  indicate  the 
general  correspondence  of  these  limestones. 

CORRELATION  OF  TIIE  SPRINGFIELD  AND  DIVERNON  SECTIONS 

The  coal  bed  that  is  mined  in  the  southern  portion  of  Sangamon 
County,  extending  as  far  north  as  Chatham  about  five  miles  south  of 
the  quadrangle,  is  different  from  that  worked  in  the  vicinity  of  Spring- 
field.  In  this  more  southern  area  there  arc  no  horsebacks  or  clay  seams 
in  the  coal,  but  a  1-  to  3-inch  band  of  shale  or  bone  coal,  known  as  a 
blue  band,  forms  a  persistent  zone  about  18  to  24  inches  above  the  bottom 
of  the  coal  bed.  This  blue-band  coal  at  Chatham  is  between  5  and  6 


114 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


feet  thick,  and  at  Divernon  10  miles  farther  south,  the  thickness  is 
nearly  8  feet.  Thirty-nine  feet  below  this  bed  at  Divernon  is  a  coal  3 
feet  thick  which  is  thought  to  represent  coal  No.  5. 

In  the  Mechanicsburg  shaft,  shown  in  columnar  section  No.  5  Plate 
XII,  a  blue-band  coal  lies  27  feet  above  the  “horseback7’  coal  (No.  5) 
which  is  at  present  worked  in  that  mine.  The  upper  coal  was  6  feet 
thick  at  the  shaft,  but  thinned  down  to  2  inches  at  a  distance  of  800 
feet  to  the  north.  In  the  Peoria  quadrangle  coal  No.  6  carries  a  per¬ 
sistent  “blue  band”  similar  to  that  in  coal  No.  6  in  the  Mechanicsburg 
shaft,  and  similar  to  the  coal  mined  at  Divernon. 

The  section  of  the  Divernon  shaft  is  given  as  No.  4  on  Plate  XII. 
Assuming  that  the  blue-band  coal  at  Divernon  is  No.  6,  and  starting 
from  coal  No.  5  as  a  base,  a  comparison  of  the  generalized  Springfield 
columnar  section  No.  3,  with  columnar  section  No.  4,  of  the  Divernon 
shaft,  brings  out  some  interesting  facts. 

The  distance  between  coal  No.  5  and  coal  No.  6  in  the  Springfield 
columnar  section  (No.  3)  is  49  feet,  whereas  the  corresponding  interval 
in  the  Divernon  section  (No.  4)  is  about  39  feet.  At  a  distance  100  feet 
above  coal  No.  5  in  section  No.  2  is  another  coal  (No.  7),  but  in  section 
No.  4,  this  second  coal  bed  is  98  feet  above  coal  No.  5.  In  section  No.  3 
coal  No.  8  lies  195  feet  above  coal  No.  5  while  in  section  No.  4,  the  cor¬ 
responding  coal  is  found  207  feet  above  the  No.  5  bed.  In  section  No.  3 
the  Crow’s  Mill  limestone  lies  about  274  feet  above  coal  No.  5  and  in 
section  No.  4  a  corresponding  limestone  occurs  267  feet  above  the  No.  5 
coal. 

Below  coal  No.  5  the  succession  of  coal  beds  shows  a  correspondence 
no  less  close.  In  columnar  section  No.  3,  2%  feet  of  coal  lies  58%  feet 
below  coal  No.  5,  whereas  in  columnar  section  No.  4  a  bed  2  feet  2 
inches  thick  is  found  58  feet  below  coal  No.  5.  In  section  No.  3  another 
coal  lies  120  feet  below  coal  No.  5 ;  in  section  No.  4  the  corresponding 
distance  is  the  same.  In  section  No.  3  another  coal  band  lies  151  feet 
below  coal  No.  5,  and  in  section  No.  4  the  corresponding  coal  is  143  feet 
below  coal  No.  5.  In  section  No.  3  a  thin  coal  lies  about  191  feet  below 
coal  No.  5,  and  in  section  No.  4  a  thicker  bed  occurs  185  feet  below 
coal  No.  5. 

In  each  of  these  sections  a  thin  limestone  occurs  a  short  distance 
above  coal  No.  5,  and  a  thicker  bed  of  limestone  is  present  in  the  interval 
between  coals  No.  6  and  No.  7.  The  bed  of  red  shale,  Rail's  Ford  shale 
member,  below  the  fire  clay  of  coal  No.  7  is  also  conspicuous  in  both 
sections.  The  heavy  limestone  bed,  Crow’s  Mill  limestone,  260  to  270 
feet  above  coal  No.  5  in  each  section  marks  an  important  horizon. 


GEOLOGY  OF  SPRINGFIELD  QUADRANGLE 


115 


The  evidence  from  the  Mechanicsburg  section,  in  which  coals  No. 
5  and  No.  6  are  known  to  correspond  respectively  with  coals  No.  5  and 
No.  6  in  the  Springfield  area,  and  the  general  correspondence  in  the 
entire  succession  of  coals  and  limestones  in  the  Springfield  and  Divernon 
sections,  make  practically  sure  the  correlation  of  the  blue-band  coal 
at  Divernon  with  coal  No.  6,  which  is  also  a  blue-band  coal,  at  Mechanics¬ 
burg  and  in  the  Peoria  region. 

ECONOMIC  GEOLOGY 

The  area  included  in  the  Springfield  quadrangle  is  preeminently 
an  agricultural  region,  and  its  productive  soils  constitute  the  greatest 
natural  source  of  wealth.  Of  the  mineral  resources  in  the  area  the 
important  deposits  of  coal  and  clay  are  of  great  economic  value. 

Coal  Resources 

The  output  of  coal  from  the  area  included  in  the  Springfield  quad¬ 
rangle  for  the  year  1910  was  about  4,127,998  tons.  This  was  the  com¬ 
bined  output  of  30  mines,  all  but  two  of  which  are  commercial  pro¬ 
ducers.  From  the  columnar  sections  on  Plate  XII,  it  will  be  seen  that 
coal  occurs  in  this  area  at  a  number  of  levels.  Of  these  beds,  coal  No.  5 
is  the  only  one  that  is  at  present  being  mined. 

COALS  BELOW  NO.  5 

A  fairly  persistent  coal  bed,  about  2y2  feet  thick  lies  about  58  feet 
below  coal  No.  5.  Another  bed,  which  seems  persistent,  occurs  about 
120  feet  below  coal  No.  5,  and  averages  about  2  feet  in  thickness.  Two 
other  coal  beds  which  are  locally  present,  aggregating  about  3  feet  in 
thickness  and  separated  by  a  few  feet  of  shale,  lie  at  a  depth  of  about 
191  feet  below  coal  No.  5.  In  the  Riverton  section  a  32-inch  coal  was 
reported  250  feet  below  the  No.  5  bed,  but  in  the  Springfield  boring  the 
corresponding  coal  is  much  thinner.  A  few  other  thin  bands  occur 
locally  in  the  Pennsylvanian  strata  below  coal  No.  5.  At  some  future 
time  one  or  more  of  these  lower  coals  may  be  of  economic  importance, 
but  until  the  No.  5  bed  becomes  practically  exhausted,  the  deeper  and 
thinner  coals  will  not  be  exploited. 


coal  no.  5 

CHARACTERISTICS  OF  COAL  NO.  5 

The  coal  known  as  No.  5  (Springfield)  is  the  only  lied  at  present 
worked  in  the  quadrangle.  Its  thickness  varies  but  little  in  the  different 
mines,  the  range  within  the  area  being  from  5!/2  to  6%  feet.  It  lies 


116 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


entirely  below  drainage,  being  found  at  depths  from  150  to  273  feet 
below  the  surface.  The  depth  to  the  coal  at  any  one  place  depends  both 
upon  the  altitude  of  the  surface  and  the  altitude  of  the  coal  at  that 
place.  Coal  No.  5  is  remarkably  uniform  and  persistent,  being  found 
at  every  place  where  borings  have  been  put  down  to  its  level,  and  it  is 
also  present  in  the  State  over  an  extensive  territory  to  the  west  and 
south  of  the  area. 

CLAY  SEAMS  IN  COAL  NO.  5 

One  of  the  conspicuous  features  of  coal  No.  5  (Springfield)  is  the 
occurrence  in  it  of  numerous  “horsebacks,”  as  they  are  called  by  the 
miners.  These  are  more  or  less  irregular  and  branching  fissures,  filled 
with  clay  or  shale,  extending  downward  from  the  overlying  beds  into  or 
through  the  coal.  They  range  in  width  from  2  or  3  inches  to  3  or  4 
feet,  the  walls  not  being  very  nearly  parallel,  and  are  considerably  and 
abruptly  wider  in  the  coal  than  in  the  overlying  roof  shale.  (See  fig.  3.) 

Sandstone 

Gray  argil  I  ite 
“soapstone” 

Limestone 


Black  shale 


Springfield 
(No.5)  coal 


Undercfay 

Fig.  3.  Sketch  of  typical  clay  seam  or  4 1  horseback  *  ’  seen  in  mine  No.  5,  of 
Springfield  Coal  Mining  Company,  near  Springfield. 

The  clay  or  shale  filling  the  fissures  is  light  gray  and  generally 
soft.  Rarely  it  is  hard  enough  to  emit  sparks  when  struck  with  a  ham¬ 
mer,  but  as  a  rule  it  soon  slakes  down  into  an  incoherent  mass  on  ex¬ 
posure  to  the  air.  The  clay  in  many  fissures  contains  fragments  of  black 
shale  derived  from  the  roof  of  the  coal,  reaching  down  29  inches  below 
the  top  of  the  coal.  A  few  fragments  of  limestone  from  the  cap  rock 
are  also  found  in  this  clay  below  the  top  of  the  coal  bed.  In  horsebacks 
that  cut  through  the  coal  bed  pieces  of  coal  have  been  found  as  much 


GEOLOGY  OF  SPRINGFIELD  QUADRANGLE 


117 


as  9  inches  below  the  bottom  of  the  bed.  No  fragments  of  coal  have  been 
found  higher  than  the  top  of  the  coal  bed. 

The  fissures  show  no  regularity  of  spacing  or  of  direction.  In 
some  mines  they  are  40  to  60  feet  apart;  in  others  they  are  separated 
by  200  to  400  feet  or  more.  They  trend  in  various  directions,  no  one 
direction  predominating,  even  in  the  same  mine.  All  are  either  vertical 
or  steeply  inclined,  with  irregular  walls  which  gradually  converge  down¬ 
ward  within  the  coal.  They  have  a  very  slight  vertical  range.  In  the 
Mechanicsburg  mine  a  coal  bed,  formerly  worked,  lies  about  35  feet  above 
coal  No.  5,  which  is  the  coal  now  mined.  Although  coal  No,  5  is  cut 
by  numerous  horsebacks,  none  were  encountered  in  the  higher  bed. 

The  walls  of  the  fissures  are  slickensided  but  show  no  traces  of 
weathering.  Slickensided  planes  are  also  common  in  the  clay  filling 
the  fissures.  If  the  fissure  is  inclined,  the  uppermost  laminae  of  the 
coal  adjacent  to  the  fissure  on  the  overhanging  side  are  bent  somewhat 
steeply  downward,  the  distortion  fading  out  laterally  within  a  few  feet 
from  the  fissure,  and  in  a  few  places  the  lowermost  laminae  of  the  coal 
on  the  other  side  of  the  fissure  are  bent  upward  but  to  a  much  less 
degree.  If  the  fissure  is  vertical,  or  nearly  vertical,  the  uppermost 
laminae  of  the  coal  are  bent  downward  on  both  sides  of  the  fissure,  but 
the  more  nearly  vertical  the  fissure  the  less  the  amount  of  bending.  In 
no  fissure  is  there  a  true  fault  or  a  relative  displacement  of  the  middle 
part  of  the  coal  bed  on  the  opposite  sides  of  the  fissure. 

The  material  filling  the  fissures  appears  to  have  been  derived 
chiefly  from  the  gray  shale  overlying  the  cap  rock  of  the  coal  bed  and 
to  have  been  forced  downward  into  the  coal  through  breaks  in  the  cap 
rock,  as  is  indicated  by  the  downward  bending  of  the  edges  of  the  cap 
rock  and  of  the  coal  laminae,  by  the  occurrence  of  fragments  of  the  cap 
rock  below  the  top  of  the  coal,  and  by  the  continuity  of  the  material 
of  the  fissures  with  that  of  the  bed  of  gray  shale. 

The  coal  appears  to  have  yielded  readily  in  a  lateral  direction,  as 
shown  by  the  greater  width  of  the  fissures  in  the  coal  bea  Than  in  the 
overlying  and  underlying  strata.  That  the  coal  afforded  accommodation 
to  the  strains  causing  the  fissures  is  also  indicated  by  the  fact  that  many 
of  the  smaller  fissures  divide  within  the  coal  bed  into  branches  which 
eventuallv  die  out  in  the  coal. 

t / 


ORIGIN  OF  CLAY  SEAMS 


The  formation  of  the  clay-filled  fissures  in  the  Springfield  coal  was 
probably  determined  in  part  by  the  character  of  the  overlying  strata 
and  in  part,  possibly,  by  the  character  of  the  underclay,  which  is  dry 
and  does  not  creep  readily.  The  fissures  were  formed  after  the  coal  bed 


118 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


had  been  compressed  nearly  to  its  present  volume,  as  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  the  clay  seams  are  not  so  deformed  as  they  would  be  if  the 
coal  had  been  greatly  compressed  after  they  were  developed.  In  some 
places  clay  from  the  fissures  has  penetrated  joints  in  the  adjacent  coal, 
indicating  that  joints  had  been  developed  in  the  coal  prior  to  the  forma¬ 
tion  of  the  clay  seams.  Campbell1  suggests  that  the  carbonization  of 
the  coal  beyond  the  lignitic  condition  depends  on  the  presence  of  joints 
and  cleavage  planes  along  which  gases  may  escape.  If  so,  the  bed 
should  have  undergone  considerable  compression  and  contraction  after 
the  joints  were  formed  before  it  became  bituminous. 

It  is  assumed  that  as  the  mass  was  slowly  transformed  into  coal  the 
contraction  in  its  different  parts  was  somewhat  unequal,  owing  to  its 
lack  of  homogeneity,  and  that  the  contraction  continued  long  after  the 
coal  had  been  greatly  consolidated.  As  long  as  the  material  possessed 
some  degree  of  mobility  the  unequal  shrinkage  in  the  different  parts  of 
the  bed  was  equalized  by  the  movement  of  some  of  the  mass  toward 
points  of  least  resistance.  When  the  consolidation  reached  a  certain 
stage  such  adjustment  was  no  longer  possible,  so  that  continued  unequal 
shrinkage  of  the  mass  produced  unequal  strains  in  the  roof  of  the  coal 
under  its  load  of  superposed  rocks.  Where  the  roof  of  the  coal  bed 
was  a  somewhat  plastic  shale  the  mobility  of  the  particles  of  the  shale 
permitted  an  adjustment  of  the  inequalities  of  strain  resulting  from  the 
unequal  contraction  of  the  coal  bed,  the  adjustment  being  accomplished 
by  the  formation  of  rock  rolls  such  as  are  common  at  the  top  of  the 
Herrin  coal  (No.  6)  in  the  Carterville-Zeigler  region  of  southern  Illinois. 
The  roof  shale  in  the  vicinity  of  the  rolls  is  cut  by  slickensided  zones 
for  several  feet  from  the  center  of  the  roll,  indicating  a  considerable 
lateral  movement  in  the  shale  during  the  adjustment  necessitated  by 
the  strains.  The  roof  of  the  Springfield  coal,  however,  is  a  hard,  brittle 
shale  without  the  mobility  requisite  for  such  adjustment.  If  the  lime¬ 
stone  cap  rock  had  been  very  thick  it  might  have  Avithstood,  without 
fracture,  the  strain  due  to  unequal  contraction  in  the  underlying  coal, 
but  its  average  thickness  is  only  12  or  14  inches.  The  roof  shale  and 
the  cap  rock  were  together  not  strong  enough  to  withstand  the  unequal 
strains  to  which  they  were  subjected  and  broke  under  the  pressure,  at 
places  marked  by  fissures. 

Immediately  above  the  cap  rock  is  a  bed  of  rather  soft  gray  shale, 
the  material  of  which  was  squeezed  downward  through  the  fissures  into 
the  coal  until  the  inequalities  of  pressure  were  adjusted.  The  adjust¬ 
ment  was  limited  to  a  narrow  zone  below  the  fractures  in  the  roof  shale 


1Campbell,  M.  R.,  Econ.  Geology,  vol.  1,  No.  1.  p.  30,  1905. 


GEOLOGY  OF  SPRINGFIELD  QUADRANGLE 


119 


and  cap  rock,  and  its  effects  are  of  slight  horizontal  extent  but  penetrate 
to  considerable  depths. 


CONCRETIONS  ABOVE  COAL  NO.  5 

Rounded  concretions  of  calcareous,  pyritic  shale,  called  pyrite  balls 
or  “niggerheads”  and  varying  in  size  from  one  inch  to  four  feet  or 
more  in  diameter,  are  in  places  numerous  along  the  contact  zone  of  the 
black  shale  with  the  top  of  the  coal.  These  concretions  have  been  com¬ 
pressed  less  than  either  the  overlying  black  shale  or  the  underlying  coal, 
and  hence  the  laminae  of  the  black  shale  arch  upward  over  the  “nigger- 
heads,  ?  ’  and  those  of  the  upper  part  of  the  coal  bend  downward  beneath 
them.  The  continued  contraction  of  the  coal  seam,  after  the  partial 
consolidation  of  the  coal  and  of  the  overlying  black  shale,  permitted  a 
sufficient  amount  of  movement  to  take  place  around  and  above  the  “nig- 
gerheads”  to  give  their  surface  a  slickensided  appearance,  and  to  cause 
them  to  fall  readily  from  their  matrix  after  the  underlying  coal  has 
been  removed. 

COAL  no.  6 

Coal  No.  6  (Belleville  or  Herrin  coal)  is  known  only  from  the 
records  of  mine  shafts  and  test  borings,  and  as  far  as  known  is  too  thin 
to  be  profitably  worked  within  this  area.  This  bed  was  formerly  mined 
at  Mechanicsburg  some  distance  east  of  Springfield  and  it  is  mined 
extensively  20  miles  south.  The  coal  where  first  penetrated  by  the 
Mechanicsburg  shaft  was  about  6  feet  in  thickness,  but  it  thinned  rapidly 
northward,  and  was  abandoned  when  coal  No.  5  was  discovered  below  it. 
In  two  of  the  shaft  sections  it  was  reported  absent,  but  in  these  the 
horizon  was  marked  by  a  black  shale  underlain  by  fire  clay.  This  coal 
lies  at  an  average  distance  of  49  feet  above  coal  No.  5,  the  distance 
increasing  in  general  toward  the  north. 

In  this  quadrangle  coal  No.  6  varies  in  thickness  between  2  and 
14  inches,  the  average  being  4!/2  inches.  The  thickness  increases  rapidly 
in  a  southerly  direction.  Near  Waverly  it  is  3y2  feet  thick.  At  Chatham 
the  thickness  is  between  5  and  G  feet,  and  at  Di vernon  it  is  nearly  8 
feet  thick.  This  coal  is  mined  extensively  in  the  southern  portion  of 
Sangamon  County,  and  farther  south  in  the  vicinity  of  Belleville, 
Duquoin,  Carterville,  and  Herrin. 

coal  no.  7 

Coal  No.  7  is  not  thick  enough  to  be  of  economic  importance,  meas¬ 
uring  generally  only  2  or  3  inches.  In  three  of  the  shaft  records  the 


120 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


horizon  is  known  only  by  the  associated  fire  clay  and  black  shale  strata, 
the  coal  itself  not  being  present.  The  position  of  this  coal  is  50  feet 
above  coal  No.  6,  and  about  100  feet  above  coal  No.  5. 

coal  no.  8 

The  thickness  of  coal  No.  8  varies  from  18  to  31  inches.  The  bed  lies 
above  drainage  over  the  whole  of  the  area  except  in  a  belt  about  3  miles 
wide  along  the  east  border,  and  it  has  been  eroded  away  from  a  strip 
of  about  equal  width  along  the  west  side  of  the  quadrangle.  For  several 
years  before  the  deeper  and  thicker  bed,  No.  5,  was  discovered,  this  was 
the  only  coal  worked  in  the  Springfield  region.  The  mining  was  done 
by  drifts  run  into  the  hillsides  at  points  where  the  bed  outcropped  above 
the  level  of  the  streams.  Traces  of  such  workings  may  be  seen  along  a 
branch  in  W.  x/2  sec-  32,  T.  16  N.,  R.  5  W ;  along  the  west  bank  of  Sugar 
Creek  in  sec.  12,  T.  15  N.,  R.  5  W  ;  and  they  are  numerous  along  the 
south  bank  of  Sangamon  River  in  secs.  5  and  6  T,  16  N.,  R.  4  W.  The 
greatest  measured  thickness  of  this  coal  was  at  the  Sangamon  River 
localities  where  it  reached  31  inches.  Coal  No.  8  lies  at  an  average  dis¬ 
tance  of  about  77  feet  above  coal  No.  7,  and  about  175  feet  above  coal 
No.  5. 

No  swamp  conditions  or  soil  beds  seem  to  have  been  developed 
in  the  interval  between  coals  No.  5  and  No.  6.  Between  coal  beds  No.  6 
and  No.  7  there  is  generally  reported  one,  and  in  some  instances  two, 
layers  of  black  shale  with  underclays.  In  a  few  places  there  is  a  thin 
bed  of  coal  at  one  of  these  levels.  Between  coals  No.  7  and  No.  8  there 
is  less  frequently  reported  a  clay-shale  succession  with  a  rare  occurrence 
of  a  thin  coal  bed. 

Interesting  tabulation  of  the  facts  regarding  the  several  coals  is 
presented  in  Table  37. 

A  comparison  of  the  thicknesses  of  the  coal  beds  from  No.  5  to  No.  8, 
inclusive,  and  of  the  distances  separating  them  in  various  mine  shafts 
and  borings  is  given  in  tabular  form  below. 


Table  37. — Thicknesses  of  the  several  coal  beds  and  the  distance  between  them  in  mine  shafts  and  borings 


GEOLOGY  OF  SPRINGFIELD  QUADRANGLE 


121 


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122 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


COAL  MINES 

The  mining  of  coal  has  been  an  important  industry  in  the  region 
under  discussion  since  about  the  year  1860.  The  oldest  mine  operating 
in  the  area  is  mine  No.  1  of  the  Springfield  Coal  Mining  Company,  at 
Riverton.  Previous  to  the  opening  of  this  mine  there  were  only  drifts 
on  coal  No.  8.  This  bed  was  formerly  worked  at  a  number  of  places  to 
the  west,  southeast  and  northeast  of  Springfield.  The  coal  is  said  to  be  of 
good  quality  but  is  too  thin  to  justify  mining  on  a  commercial  scale. 

Soon  after  the  discovery  of  the  thicker  coal,  No.  5,  within  easy 
working  depth  several  shafts  were  put  down  and  the  coal  industry  rose 
to  first  importance.  The  output  of  coal  in  Sangamon  County  for 
the  year  1910  aggregated  5,076,961  tons,  being  second  only  to  the  pro¬ 
duction  in  Williamson  County  for  that  year.  The  value  of  the  coal  at 
the  mines  was  about  $5,000,000.  Much  the  greater  part  of  this  produc¬ 
tion  was  from  mines  located  within  the  Springfield  quadrangle.  A 
large  part  of  the  coal  is  sold  to  the  various  railroads  that  pass  through 
Springfield,  and  much  of  it  finds  a  market  at  home. 

All  of  the  coal  at  present  mined  in  the  area  is  taken  from  coal  No.  5. 
Thirty  mines  are  in  operation,  all  but  two  of  which  are  commercial  pro¬ 
ducers.  There  is  given  in  the  Table  38  a  list  of  the  coal  mines  of  the 
quadrangle,  the  average  thickness  of  the  coal,  the  depth  of  the  shaft  and 
the  altitude  of  the  base  of  coal  No.  5  in  each  mine. 


GEOLOGY  OF  SPRINGFIELD  QUADRANGLE 


123 


Table  38. — Coal  mines  in  the  Springfield  quadrangle 
(All  are  operated  on  coal  No.  5  by  shaft  openings.) 


Table 

num¬ 

ber 

Company 

Mine 

Location 

Coal  No. 

5 

% 

% 

sec. 

T.  S. 

R.  W. 

Map 

No. 

Depth 

to 

base 

Thick¬ 

ness 

Source  of 
informa¬ 
tion 

Feet 

Inches 

1 

Athens  Coal  Mining  Co. 

No.  2 

NE 

NE 

1 

17 

6 

1 

212 

75 

M 

2 

Barclay  Coal  Mining  Co.. 

Barclay 

SW 

SW 

35 

17 

4 

1 

252 

73 

S 

3 

Capitol  Coal  Co . 

Capitol 

NE 

NW 

35 

16 

5 

1 

226 

72 

M 

4 

Chicago  &  Springfield 

Coal  Co . 

SW 

NW 

12 

16 

5 

1 

235 

74 

M 

5 

Cantrall  Cooperative 

Coal  Co . 

Cantrall 

SE 

NW 

8 

17 

5 

1 

212 

73 

M 

6 

Citizens  Coal  Mining  Co.. 

A 

NW 

NW 

32 

16 

5 

1 

212 

64 

M 

7 

Citizens  Coal  Mining  Co.. 

B 

NW 

SE 

31 

16 

5 

1 

210 

69 

S 

8 

Cora  Coal  Mining  Co..  .  . 

No.  1 

NW 

SE 

27 

17 

5 

1 

202 

72 

S 

9 

Jefferson  Coal  Co. 

(T.  J.  O'Gara) . 

Jefferson 

NW 

SW 

1 

15 

5 

1 

246 

69 

M 

10 

Illinois  Colliery  Co . 

No.  8 

sy2 

SW 

14 

16 

5 

1 

250 

69 

M 

11 

Illinois  Midland  Coal  Co.. 

Peabody 

SE 

SE 

36 

17 

5 

1 

204 

72 

M 

12 

Lincoln  Park  Coal  and 

Brick  Co . 

NW 

SE 

21 

16 

5 

1 

210 

69 

S 

13 

xNumber  12  Coal  Co . 

NE 

SE 

20 

16 

5 

1 

181 

72 

S 

14 

Sangamon  Coal  Co. 

Starnes  No.  2  shaft.  .  . 

No.  2 

SW 

SW 

24 

16 

5 

1 

256 

79 

M 

15 

Spring  Creek  Coal  Co..  . 

NE 

SE 

19 

16 

5 

1 

173 

72 

M 

16 

Springfield  Coal  Mining 

Co.  Riverton  mine 

No.  1 . 

No.  1 

SW 

SE 

9 

16 

4 

1 

230 

69 

M 

17 

Springfield  Coal  Mining 

Co.  Riverton  mine 

No.  2 . 

No.  2 

NW 

SE 

10 

16 

4 

1 

238 

71 

M 

18 

Springfield  Coal  Mining 

Co.  Starnes  No.  1  shaft 

No.  3 

NE 

SW 

24 

16 

5 

2 

245 

69 

S 

19 

Soringfield  Coal  Mining 

Co . 

No.  4 

SW 

SW 

3 

15 

5 

2 

250 

70 

S 

20 

Springfield  Coal  Mining 

Co . 

No.  5 

SW 

NW 

9 

15 

5 

1 

256 

71 

M 

21 

Springfield  Colliery  Co. . 

N  Vs 

SW 

13 

16 

5 

1 

231 

73 

M 

22 

Springfield  Cooperative 

Coal  Co . 

No.  1 

NW 

NW 

23 

16 

5 

1 

250 

69 

M 

23 

Standard  Washed  Coal 

Co . 

No.  1 

NE 

SE 

4 

16 

4 

1 

238 

69 

M 

24 

Standard  Washed  Coal 

Co . 

No.  2 

SW 

SW 

8 

16 

4 

1 

240 

69 

M 

25 

Tuxhorn  Coal  Mining  Co. 

Tuxhorn 

NW 

SW 

5 

15 

4 

1 

230 

68 

M 

26 

Wabash  Coal  Co . 

No.  2 

SW 

NW 

36 

18 

6 

1 

206 

72 

M 

27 

West  End  Coal  Co . 

NE 

NE 

29 

16 

5 

1 

150 

66 

S 

28 

Williamsville  Coal  Co... 

Selbytown 

s  % 

NW 

17 

17 

4 

1 

272 

68 

M 

29 

Wilmington  and  Spring- 

field  Coal  Co.  (Jones 

and  Adams,  C.  C.)  .  .  . 

Republic 

SW 

SW 

14 

16 

5 

2 

245 

70 

S 

30 

Woodside  Coal  Co . 

NW 

SW 

3 

15 

5 

1 

251 

78 

M 

^on-shipping  mines. 

M,  Measured  by  Survey  representative. 

S,  Information  from  Superintendent  of  mine. 


A  coal  bed  one  foot  thick  is  estimated  to  contain  1770  tons  of  coal 
per  acre.  Coal  No.  5  averages  nearly  6  feet  thick.  Assuming  the  average 
thickness  to  be  5%  feet,  this  bed  would  contain  10,177  tons  per  acre. 
In  the  average  mine  about  66  per  cent  of  the  coal  is  hoisted,  the  balance 
being  left  in  pillars,  etc.  This  percentage  would  make  6,785  tons  of  coal 
per  acre  available  under  the  present  method  of  mining. 


124 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


MINING  METHODS  AND  EQUIPMENT 

In  the  mines  of  this  area  all  the  coal  is  hoisted  through  shafts  by 
steam  engines  working  a  6-  to  8-foot  drum.  The  shafts  are  of  two  com¬ 
partments,  usually  6  or  8  feet  by  14  or  16  feet,  and  are  provided  with 
automatic  dumping  cages.  In  some  of  the  mines  the  framework  of  the 
shaft,  tipple,  and  cages  are  of  steel  throughout.  The  coal  is  usually 
dumped  over  shaker  screens  and  loaded  on  2,  3,  or  4  tracks.  The  top 
works  of  the  newer  mines  are  conveniently  planned  and  substantially 
built. 

A  few  of  the  operators  have  installed  motor  haulage.  In  some  of 
the  mines  tail  ropes  are  used,  but  in  the  greater  number  all  of  the 
mine  haulage  is  done  by  mules  on  cars  of  2000  to  3000  pounds  capacity. 
The  coal  is  generally  shot  from  the  solid  without  undercutting,  no  min¬ 
ing  machines  being  used  in  the  mines  of  the  area.  There  is  therefore 
considerable  breaking  up  and  waste  of  the  coal  in  the  process  of  mining. 

Most  of  the  coal  is  put  on  the  market  without  washing.  However, 
a  washer  has  been  installed  by  the  Producers  Coal  Company,  at  mine 
No.  2  of  the  Standard  Washed  Coal  Company  at  Bissell.  The  screenings 
from  the  No.  1  mine  of  the  same  company,  at  Spaulding,  are  also  washed 
at  this  plant.  All  of  the  coal  that  passes  through  3-inch  shaker  screens, 
which  is  about  60  per  cent  of  all  the  coal  hoisted,  is  sent  to  the  washer. 

The  washer  is  equipped  with  two  Stewart  jigs  which  have  a  capacity 
of  100  tons  per  hour.  Between  5  and  6  per  cent  of  dirt  is  removed  by 
the  washing.  Of  the  washed  coal  about  15  per  cent  is  egg  size,  which 
does  not  pass  through  2-inch  revolving  screens;  about  20  per  cent  is 
nut,  which  passes  over  iy2  inch  screens ;  and  about  25  per  cent  is  pea 
coal ;  and  the  remainder,  about  40  per  cent,  is  slack. 

The  room-and-pillar  method  and  the  panel  system  of  mining  are 
employed.  The  former  was  first  in  general  practice,  but  at  present  the 
panel  system  which  is  a  modification  of  the  room-and-pillar,  is  followed 
in  many  of  the  mines. 

By  the  panel  system  a  mine  is  divided  into  districts  or  panels  by 
driving  entries  and  cross  entries  so  as  to  intersect  one  another  at  regular 
intervals.  Large  pillars  are  left  surrounding  the  workings  in  each  panel 
within  which  any  method  of  development  may  be  used.  The  main  entries 
are  driven  10  to  12  feet  wide  according  to  the  roof  conditions,  and  the 
coal  is  taken  out  from  roof  shale  to  fire  clay.  Sixty-foot  pillars  are 
left  on  either  side.  The  cross  entries  are  about  500  feet  long,  and  the 
‘‘butt”  or  room-producing  entries  are  about  1200  feet.  This  gives  the 
distance  of  1200  feet  between  the  cross  entries  and  makes  the  “butt” 
entries  500  feet  apart.  The  rooms  are  250  feet  long,  spaced  at  40-foot 
centers  along  the  entries.  They  are  30  feet  wide,  leaving  a  pillar  10 


GEOLOGY  OF  SPRINGFIELD  QUADRANGLE 


125 


feet  wide  between  the  rooms.  The  first  and  the  last  rooms  on  each  ‘  ‘  butt  ’  ’ 
entry  are  spaced  60  feet  center  to  center  with  the  cross  entries  providing 
for  a  40-foot  pillar  along  the  entries. 

In  general  the  roof  conditions  are  good.  The  black  shale  usually 
stands  well,  and  where  this  falls  the  cap  rock  makes  a  safe  cover.  Props 
and  cross  bars  are  set  3,  6,  or  10  feet  apart  depending  upon  the  local 
conditions  of  the  roof.  In  many  places  but  few  timbers  are  needed  in 
the  entries,  and  they  are  usually  placed  not  closer  than  4  to  6  feet  apart 
in  the  rooms. 

Where  the  under  clay  is  unusually  thick,  it  has  a  tendency  to 
creep  and  sometimes  causes  trouble  from  squeezes.  However,  the  mines 
are  uniformly  dry  and  the  under  clay  is  usually  so  thin  that  trouble 
from  this  source  is  seldom  experienced. 

SAMPLING  AND  CHEMICAL  ANALYSES  OF  COAL  NO.  5 

Samples  of  coal  No.  5  for  chemical  analyses  were  collected  from  the 
mines  designated  by  the  table  number  5,  6,  17,  20,  21,  24,  25,  28,  and  30 
in  Table  39  operated  in  this  area,  and  also  from  the  mine  of  the  Wabash 
Coal  Co.  at  Dawson.  The  samples  are  thought  to  represent  the  average 
coal  from  the  entire  bed  as  it  is  taken  from  the  mine.  They  were  made 
by  first  cleaning  the  face  of  the  coal  and  then  cutting  a  narrow  channel 
of  uniform  width  and  depth  from  the  top  to  the  bottom  of  the  bed.  The 
coal  was  caught  on  a  canvas,  broken  sufficiently  fine  to  pass  through  a 
sieve  of  !/2_ inch  mesh,  quartered  down,  and  the  sample  placed  in  an  air¬ 
tight  mailing  can  before  leaving  the  mine.  Occasional  sulphur  lenses 
and  bands,  %  inch  or  more  in  thickness,  were  excluded  from  the  samples 
inasmuch  as  these  are  supposed  to  be  thrown  out  of  the  coal  by  the 
miners. 

The  quality  of  coal  No.  5  in  this  region  may  be  seen  from  Table  39  of 
chemical  analyses.  The  range  of  values  and  the  average  results  for  all 
of  the  samples  are  shown. 


126 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


Table  39. — Proximate  analyses  of  coal  No.  5  from  Springfield  quadrangle  and 

vicinity a 


Lab. 

No. 

Condition 

Moisture 

Fixed 

carbon 

Volatile 

matter 

Ash 

Sulphur 

B.  t.  u. 

2782 

As  received 
Dry  coal 

13.69 

40.15 

46.52 

36.79 

42.62 

9.37 

10.86 

4.34 

5.05 

10,890 

12,618 

2783 

As  received 
Dry  coal 

14.40 

39.58 

46.23 

36.45 

42.59 

9.57 

11.18 

4.15 

4.85 

10,804 

12,621 

540 

As  received 
Dry  coal 

13.56 

9.29 

10.78 

4.13 

4.78 

11,019 

12,749 

721 

As  received 
Dry  coal 

14.39 

11.68 

13.64 

3.95 

4.61 

10,534 

12,304 

740 

As  received 
Dry  coal 

14.30 

10.91 

12.75 

3.52 

4.11 

10,598 

12,369 

741 

As  received 
Dry  coal 

13.13 

10.83 

12.47 

3.72 

4.28 

10,785 

12,416 

1761 

As  received 
Dry  coal 

14.61 

37.76 

44.22 

36.97 

43.30 

10.66 

12.48 

3.88 

4.55 

10,557 

12,364 

1762 

As  received 
Dry  coal 

14.55 

38.06 

44.53 

36.41 

42.62 

10.97 

12.85 

3.88 

4.54 

10,493 

12,281 

1766 

As  received 
Dry  coal 

15.42 

36.70 

43.39 

35.41 

41.88 

12.47 

14.73 

3.54 

4.19 

10,219 

12,082 

1770 

As  received 
Dry  coal 

14.89 

37.15 

43.66 

38.32 

45.02 

9.64 

11.32 

4.08 

4.79 

10,778 

12,663 

1772 

As  received 
Dry  coal 

14.00 

38.73 

45.04 

36.23 

42.13 

11.04 

12.83 

3.49 

4.06 

10,628 

12,358 

1773 

As  received 
Dry  coal 

14.44 

38.73 

44.73 

37.26 

43.56 

10.03 

11.71 

4.15 

4.85 

10,675 

12,477 

1774 

As  received 
Dry  coal 

14.41 

38.49 

44.98 

37.00 

43.22 

10.10 

11.80 

4.35 

5.09 

10,741 

12,550 

1786 

As  received 
Dry  coal 

14.18 

37.S4 

44.10 

35.39 

41.23 

12.59 

14.67 

4.29 

5.00 

10,396 

12,115 

1790 

As  received 
Dry  coal 

16.41 

40.85 

48.87 

33.80 

40.44 

8.94 

10.69 

3.05 

3.65 

10,603 

12,685 

1792 

As  received 
Dry  coal 

15.38 

39.51 

46.70 

36.52 

43.16 

8.59 

10.14 

3.38 

4.00 

10,873 

12,849 

1794 

As  received 
Dry  coal 

13.69 

38.61 

44.74 

35.39 

41.00 

12.31 

14.26 

3.35 

3.88 

10,472 

12,133 

1704 
U.  S.b 

As  received 

13.89 

40.89 

33.96 

11.26 

3.83 

10,636 

1705 
U.  S.b 

As  received 

14.45 

40.10 

34.79 

10.66 

3.46 

Analyses  by  J.  M.  Lindgren  under  the  direction  ot  S.  W.  Parr  of  the  Ill.  State  Geol. 
Survey. 

aFirst  and  second  samples  from  Menard  County;  all  others  from  Sangamon. 

•’Analyses  made  by  U.  S.  Geological  Survey. 


GEOLOGY  OF  SPRINGFIELD  QUADRANGLE 


127 


Clay  Resources 

GENERAL  STATEMENT 

The  only  clav  goods  manufactured  at  present  in  the  quadrangle  con¬ 
sist  of  various  grades  of  building,  sidewalk,  and  paving  brick.  The 
total  value  of  the  output  of  the  various  kinds  of  brick  in  Sangamon 
County  for  the  year  1910  was  $75,012.  Much  the  greater  part  of  this 
was  from  wares  produced  in  the  vicinity  of  Springfield. 

The  raw  materials  in  this  area  suitable  for  manufacture  into  clay 
goods  are  Pennsylvanian  shale,  and  loess  and  alluvial  clay  of  the  surficial 
formations.  Of  the  shale,  two  beds  have  been  utilized.  The  lowest  of 
these  lies  a  short  distance  below  coal  No.  8,  and  the  upper  bed  lies  a  few 
feet  above  its  limestone  cap  rock.  This  inexhaustible  supply  of  raw 
materials  is  of  superior  quality  and  easily  accessible  both  as  regards  the 
overburden  and  the  convenience  to  railroads.  A  cheap  and  abundant 
fuel  supply  is  close  at  hand.  The  facilities  for  distributing  and  market¬ 
ing  the  output  are  unusually  favorable,  and  there  seems  to  be  no  reason 
why  this  area  may  not  become  one  of  the  most  important  centers  in  the 
Mississippi  Valley  for  the  production  of  clay  wares. 


SHALE  BELOW  COAL  NO.  8 

Some  years  ago  Masters  Brothers  of  Springfield  operated  a  brick 
plant  near  the  State  Fair  Grounds.  The  shale  underlying  coal  No.  8 
was  mixed  with  the  overlying  surficial  clay  in  the  manufacture  of  various 
grades  of  brick.  A  thickness  of  about  15  feet  of  the  shale  was  worked 
with  about  8  feet  of  the  loess.  Coal  No.  8  above  the  shale  was  used  in 
burning  the  clay.  The  product  was  said  to  be  of  good  quality,  and  the 
plant  continued  in  successful  operation  for  several  years. 

In  the  western  part  of  Springfield  the  Dawson  Brick  and  Tile  Com¬ 
pany  are  manufacturing  brick  for  which  this  lower  bed  of  shale  is  used 
in  connection  with  surface  clays.  A  section  of  the  pit  of  this  company 
is  given  below: 


Section  of  clay  pit  of  Dawson  Bride  and  Tile  Company 

Feet 


5.  Soil  and  loess .  12 

4.  Clay,  yellow,  in  places  much  iron  stained,  with  numerous  small  pebbles.  .  .  (3 

3.  Sand,  coarse,  water-bearing  .  1*4 

2.  Till,  bluish-gray,  somewhat  sandy,  with  bowlders  of  various  sizes  up  to 

4  feet  in  diameter  .  16 

1.  Shale,  brown  to  blue  (Pennsylvanian) .  7 


The  shale  in  the  foregoing  section  lies  10  oi*  12  feet  below  coal  No.  8. 
About  25  per  cent  of  the  shale  and  75  per  cent  of  surface  materials  com¬ 
prise  the  mixture  from  which  the  ware  is  made.  The  pebbles  and  gravel 


128 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


of  the  drift  are  screened  out  and  sold  for  a  sum  sufficient  to  cover  the 
expense  of  their  removal.  Common  building  brick,  the  only  kind  made 
at  present,  is  manufactured  by  the  stiff-mud  process.  A  J.  C.  steel 
auger  machine  is  used  with  a  pug  mill,  the  two  requiring  about  40-horse 
power  to  operate  them.  The  clay  is  ground  to  a  fineness  of  14  to  1/16 
of  an  inch.  If  the  grinding  is  made  much  finer  than  this,  it  is  said  to 
cause  trouble  in  the  checking  or  cracking  of  the  brick.  The  direct  heat 
used  in  drying  makes  the  brick  dirty,  but  the  quality  of  the  production 
is  fair.  This  system  of  drying  would  seem  to  be  bad  from  a  standpoint 
of  fuel  economy,  but  the  price  of  the  coal  used  for  this  purpose  is  only 
65  cents  per  ton,  which  makes  the  fuel  expense  so  small  that  it  has  seemed 
undesirable  to  install  a  system  of  drying  with  waste  heat. 

The  burning  is  made  in  two,  double,  down-draft,  rectangular  kilns 
and  two  clamp  kilns,  having  a  total  capacity  of  600.000  brick.  The  dry¬ 
ing  requires  about  two  weeks  and  the  burn  occupies  10  to  11  days  after 
water  smoking.  The  fuel  expense  is  estimated  at  one  dollar  per  thousand 
brick,  two-thirds  of  the  coal  used  costing  65  cents,  and  the  remaining 
one-third  costing  one  and  one-half  dollars  per  ton.  The  total  yearly  pro¬ 
duction  of  brick  is  about  4.000,000.  Almost  the  entire  output  is  mar¬ 
keted  in  the  city  of  Springfield. 


SHALE  ABOVE  COAL  NO.  8 

The  Springfield  Paving  Brick  Company  works  the  bed  of  shale  over- 
lying  the  cap  rock  above  coal  Xo.  8.  A  thickness  of  44  feet  of  shale  has 
been  utilized  at  this  place.  It  is  mined  with  a  steam  shovel  and  drawn 
to  the  works  with  drum  and  cable.  Four  to  twelve  feet  of  the  overlying 
loess  is  used  with  the  shale  in  the  clay  mixture.  The  shale  is  dark  gray, 
rather  fine  grained,  thin  bedded,  and  quite  hard.  Two  Peterson  and 
one  Penfield  dry  pans  are  used  in  grinding  the  shale,  which  is  reduced 
to  a  fineness  of  y8  to  %  inches.  The  clay  is  tempered  in  a  Penfield  pug 
mill.  About  12  per  cent  water  is  needed  to  give  it  the  requisite  plas¬ 
ticity.  A  Chambers  auger  and  end-cut  brick  machine  is  used.  A  force 
of  20-horse  power  is  required  for  pugging,  and  85-horse  power  in  forc¬ 
ing  the  bar  of  clay  through  the  die.  Soon  after  emerging  from  the  die, 
blisters  rise  on  the  surface  of  the  clay  bar  at  frequent  intervals.  These 
blistered  spots  are  points  of  weakness  in  the  pavers,  and  have  caused 
considerable  annoyance.  The  superintendent  of  the  company,  P.  H. 
Staley,  thinks  they  are  due  to  bubbles  of  air  being  present  within  the 
bar  of  clay.  On  the  relief  of  pressure,  after  coming  from  the  die,  this 
air  expands  and  raises  the  surface  into  blisters.  To  remedy  this  Mr. 
Staley  plans  to  have  the  clay  from  the  pug  mill  pass  into  a  vacuum 


GEOLOGY  OF  SPRINGFIELD  QUADRANGLE 


129 


chamber  where  it  will  be  cut  up  and  the  air  removed  before  the  clay  is 

forced  through  the  die.  This  experiment  had  not  been  tried  at  the  time 

this  study  was  made. 

«/ 

A  waste-heat  drying  system  is  installed,  consisting  of  ten  fireproof 
tunnels  constructed  of  brick  and  cement,  which  accomodate  20  tracks. 
The  brick  are  burned  in  rectangular,  down-draft  kilns,  built  on  a  plan 
modified  for  the  yard.  For  distributing  the  heat  a  large  tunnel  is  used, 
supplied  with  four  stacks,  one  on  each  side  and  one  at  each  end.  About 
seven  days  are  required  for  water  smoking  and  burning.  The  total 


Fig.  4.  Shale,  overlying  limestone  above  coal  No.  8,  exposed  in  shale  pit  of 
Springfield  Paving  Brick  Co.,  Springfield. 


shrinkage  of  the  brick  in  drying  and  burning  is  estimated  at  12  per  cent. 
About  iy2  tons  of  mine-run  coal  are  used  in  the  manufacture  of  1000 
brick. 

The  output  of  this  plant  consists  of  paving  brick,  sidewalk  brick,  and 
builders,  of  which  a  yearly  total  of  about  18,000,000  is  produced.  The 
rejects  of  the  pavers  are  sold  as  builders,  and  those  in  the  more  poorly 
burned  parts  of  the  kilns  are  sold  for  sidewalk  brick.  In  this  manner 
there  is  very  little  waste,  and  the  quality  of  all  is  superior.  In  the 
various  tests  of  paving  brick  made  by  Professor  A.  N.  Talbot  of  the 


130 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


University  of  Illinois,  the  pavers  made  by  the  Springfield  Paving  Brick 
Company  compared  very  favorably  indeed  with  those  made  by  other 
paving  brick  manufacturers  in  Illinois  and  neighboring  states.  For  the 
detailed  results  of  these  tests  the  reader  is  referred  to  Professor  Talbot’s1 
paper. 

There  is  a  large  demand  for  the  output  of  this  company  in  the  city 
of  Springfield.  Large  quantities  of  the  brick  are  also  sent  to  other  cities 
in  central  Illinois,  and  to  St.  Louis.  Pavers  are  shipped  north  as  far 
as  Duluth  and  south  as  far  as  New  Orleans. 

SURFACE  CLAYS 

For  several  years  the  Lincoln  Park  Coal  and  Brick  Company  have 
operated  a  brick  yard  in  connection  with  their  coal  mine.  Common 
brick  and  face  brick  are  made  from  loess  clay  by  the  dry-press  process. 
Quincy  gatherers  are  used,  and  revolving  disk  plows  for  cutting  up  the 
top.  The  plant  is  equipped  with  a  Ross  Keller  disintegrator  and  press. 
Some  trouble  is  experienced  with  “ pressure  cracks”  unless  the  kiln  is 
cooled  very  slowly.  The  brick  are  burned  in  round,  down-draft  kilns 
with  riddle  bottoms.  The  length  of  burn  is  about  14  days  at  a  tempera¬ 
ture  of  about  1742°  F.  In  general  the  loess  clay  is  said  to  require  a 
higher  temperature  for  burning  than  the  shale.  The  estimated  amount 
of  fuel  required  per  thousand  brick  is  a  little  less  than  one  ton.  The 
yearly  output  of  the  plant  is  about  2,000,000  brick,  all  of  which  find  a 
market  in  Springfield. 

Common  building  brick  are  also  manufactured  by  Mr.  P.  M.  Bartelme 
at  Springfield  by  the  stiff-mud  process,  the  loess  being  used  as  the  raw 
material.  The  plant  is  equipped  with  a  Freese  combined  pug  mill  and 
brick  machine.  There  is  a  tendency  to  lamination  in  the  brick  which 
is  thought  to  be  due  to  the  resistance  of  the  sides  of  the  die  above  that 
of  the  center,  thus  some  slipping  results.  The  trouble  is  obviated  by 
placing  pins  in  front  of  the  auger  so  that  the  middle  part  of  the  clay 
core  will  be  cut  up  and  thus  encounter  resistance  somewhat  equal  to 
that  of  the  sides.  Drying  is  done  with  direct  heat.  The  burn  is  made 
in  round,  down-draft  kilns,  requiring  1*4  to  iy2  tons  of  coal  per  thou¬ 
sand  brick.  The  total  annual  output  is  $3,500,000,  all  of  which  are  put 
on  the  local  market. 

A  short  distance  north  of  Athens,  Mr.  J.  C.  Cronister  manufactures 
common  brick  from  loess  clay.  The  brick  are  moulded  by  hand,  ana 
kilns  are  burned  as  the  local  market  demands. 

1Talbot,  A.  N.,  Qualities  of  high  grade  paving  brick  and  tests  in  determining  them:  Ill. 
State  Geol.  Survey  Bull.  9,  pp.  47  et  seq.  1908. 


THE  VALUATION  OF  COAL  FOR  GAS  MANUFACTURE 

By  S.  W.  Parr 

OUTLINE 

PAGE 

Introduction .  133 

Interpretation  of  proximate  analyses .  133 

Determination  of  corrected  volatile  matter .  133 

Deduction  of  heat  values .  134 

TABLES 

40.  Proximate  analyses  and  heat  values  of  fixed  carbon  and  volatile  matter 

in  some  coal  samples .  137 

41.  Comparison  of  heat  values  per  pound  of  volatile  matter  and  heat  values 

of  volatile  matter  per  pound  of  coal .  138 


(131) 


- 


1 

» 

' 


* 


VALUATION  OF  COAL  FOR  GAS  MANUFACTURE 


INTRODUCTION 

Doubtless  the  value  of  coal  for  the  manufacture  of  city  gas  can  be 
determined  in  its  ultimate  phases  only  by  an  actual  test  in  the  retorts, 
since  many  of  the  properties  are  more  or  less  directly  dependent  upon 
temperatures  of  distillation,  size  of  the  charge,  type  of  retort,  and 
other  factors.  However,  the  question  is  a  proper  one  to  raise  as  to  what 
information  may  be  had  from  an  analysis  of  the  coal.  It  is  perhaps  a 
just  criticism  of  chemical  analyses,  so  far  as  gas,  manufacture  is  con¬ 
cerned,  to  say  that  they  afford  very  little  information  as  to  the  relative 
value  of  coals  for  this  purpose.  The  aim  of  this  paper  is  to  indicate 
whether  values  which  may  be  obtained  from  the  ordinary  proximate 
analysis  and  which  are  not  ordinarily  put  in  a  form  for  interpretation 
may.  serve  the  more  definite  function  of  indicating  relative  adaptability 
of  coals  for  gas  making. 

INTERPRETATION  OF  PROXIMATE  ANALYSIS 

DETERMINATION  OF  CORRECTED  VOLATILE  MATTER 

It  would  seem  as  though  an  Illinois  coal  with  35  per  cent  volatile  mat¬ 
ter  should  result  in  as  good  a  yield  per  pound  as  a  West  Virginia  or 
Pennsylvania  coal  with  35  per  cent  volatile  matter.  However,  the  vola¬ 
tile  constituents  in  the  two  types  of  coal,  as  is  well  known,  vary  with 
respect  to  the  content  of  oxygen  or  inert  material  present,  a  feature 
which  has  already  been  set  forth.1  This  inert  volatile  matter  of  the 
eastern  bituminous  coals  is  less  than  half  as  much  as  is  found  in  the 
Illinois  coals. 

These  facts  ordinarily  may  be  deduced  from  an  ultimate  analysis  of 
the  coal ;  but  a  much  more  convenient  source  of  information  may  be 
found  in  the  proximate  analysis  if  we  concede  the  following  facts :  First , 
that  a  fairly  accurate  determination  of  the  volatile  matter  can  be  made. 
The  endeavor  to  solve  this  problem  has  been  made  by  certain  improve¬ 
ments  in  procedure,  which  will  bring  that  determination  up  to  a  point 
of  greater  accuracy.  Second,  the  possibility  of  deriving  a  corrected  ash 
value,  as  detailed  in  a  previous  report2  permits  the  deduction  of  a  cor¬ 
rected  volatile  matter,  since  the  error  in  the  ash  is  due  to  such  volatile 
constituents  as  sulphur  and  water  of  hydration,  which,  unless  corrected 
for,  augment  by  so  much  the  volatile  factor.  By  application  of  the  im- 

’Parr,  S.  W.,  A  chemical  study  of  Illinois  coals:  Illinois  Coal  Mining  Investigations  Bull. 
3  (in  press). 

-Parr,  S.  W.,  Composition  of  Illinois  coal:  Ill.  Geol.  Survey  Bull.  16,  pp.  210-212,  1910. 

(133) 


134 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


proved  method  thus  outlined  in  Bulletin  16,  it  is  possible  to  obtain  the 
heat  value  for  unit  carbon  and  also  the  heat  value  for  unit  volatile 
matter,  and  by  means  of  this  latter  factor  there  may  be  derived  the  heat 
values  to  be  credited  per  pound  to  the  true  or  volatile  matter  in  any 
type  of  coal.  This  at  once  indicates  the  relative  value  of  such  a  coal 
for  gas-making  purposes.  That  is  to  say,  the  inert  or  non-combustible 
part  of  the  volatile  matter  modifies  its  heat  value ;  the  higher  the  oxygen, 
or  the  combined  water  content,  the  lower  will  be  the  heat  value  per  pound 
of  volatile  matter ;  and  conversely,  the  lower  the  oxygen  or  inert  volatile 
matter,  the  higher  will  be  the  indicated  heat  value  per  pound  of  that 
substance. 

An  illustration  of  the  application  of  these  principles  will  explain 
more  definitely  what  is  meant.  For  example,  a  sample  of  coal  from  Wil¬ 
liamson  County,  Illinois  (Lab.  No.  1918),  has  the  following  constituents: 

Dry-coal  analysis  of  coal  from  Williamson  County 


Ash  as  weighed  .  9.50 

Volatile  matter  .  34.89 

Fixed  carbon  .  55.61 

Sulphur  .  1.75 

B.  t.  u .  13,173 

Unit  coal  .  14,739 


Corrected  ash,  as  obtained  by  the  formula,1  Ash=1.08  A-\~y2  S  +  1/20  S, 
gives  a  corrected  ash  of  11.22  per  cent.  Now,  it  must  be  evident  that 
this  correction  to  the  ash  is  volatile  matter,  which  in  the  process  of  analy¬ 
sis  is  regarded  as  belonging  to  the  latter  factor  instead  of  to  the  ash 
where  it  properly  belongs.  The  percentage  of  volatile  matter,  therefore, 
should  be  corrected  by  the  amount  of  error  derived  for  the  ash ;  namely 
11.22  —  9.50  or  1.72  per  cent. 


DEDUCTION  OF  HEAT  VALUES 

The  proper  distribution  of  this  error,  hoAvever,  makes  no  difference 
in  the  fixed  carbon,  the  percentage,  55.61,  remaining  the  same,  however 
the  errors  as  to  volatile  matter  and  ash  are  distributed.  The  amount 
of  fixed  carbon  in  unit  coal,  therefore,  would  be  found  by  the  expression 

,  —  =62.63  per  cent  of  unit  carbon.  By  difference  between  this 

100  —  11.22 

value  and  100  we  have  37.37  which  represents  the  percentage  of  unit 
volatile  matter.  These  two  substances  combine  to  form  what  is  termed 
unit  coal,  which  has  a  value,  as  taken  from  the  table,  of  14,739  B.  t.  u. 
per  pound.  We  can  now  distribute  these  values,  as  between  the  unit 
carbon  and  the  unit  volatile  matter,  thus :  The  known  factor  for  one 
pound  of  carbon  is  14,544.  Hence,  62.63  per  cent  of  carbon,  as  in  the 


1Loc.  cit. 


VALUATION  OF  COAL  FOR  GAS  MANUFACTURE 


135 


unit  substance  of  this  coal,  gives  9,109  B.  t.  u.  Subtracting  this  from 
the  unit  coal  value,  14,739,  we  have  5,630  B.  t.  u.  for  the  37.37  per  cent 
of  volatile  matter.  Then,  1  pound  of  unit  volatile  matter= 
^  630 

37  37  X  100=15,065  B.  t.  u.  Hence,  the  value  of  a  pound  of  pure  or 
corrected  volatile  matter  of  Williamson  County  coal,  sample  No.  1918, 
is  15,065  units. 

Now,  if  we  compare  with  this  a  coal  from  West  Virginia  (Lab.  No. 
4133)  with  composition  of  the  dry  coal  as  below, 


Dry -coal  analysis  of  coal  from  West  Virginia 

Ash  as  weighed  . 

Volatile  matter  . . . 

Fixed  carbon  . 

Sulphur  . 

B.  t.  . . 

Unit,  coal  . 


10.12 

34.74 

55.14 

2.2S 

13,600 

15,359 


Making  the  same  calculations,  we  will  find  the  heat  value  for  the  calcu¬ 
lated  percentage  of  carbon  in  the  unit  coal,  62.78,  to  be  9,131  B.  t.  u.,  and 
the  percentage  of  the  remaining  volatile  matter,  37.22,  is  6,228  B.  t.  u. 

6,228 

Calculating  this  latter  value  to  the  unit  or  pound  basis,  ^  29  X  100 — 

16,732  B.  t.  u.  That  is  to  say,  two  coals,  one  having  34.89  per  cent  of 
volatile  matter  as  regularly  determined  on  the  dry  coal  basis  and  the 
other  34.74  per  cent,  show  relative  heat  values  per  pound  of  unit  vola¬ 
tile  matter  of  15,065  B.  t.  u.  and  16,732  B.  t.  u.  respectively.  The  higher 
heat  value  of  the  West  Virginia  coal  is  due  to  the  lower  amount  of  inert 
volatile  matter  in  its  composition.  Conversely,  the  higher  inert  volatile 
matter  of  the  Illinois  coal  shows  itself  in  the  relatively  lower  amount  of 
heat  value  which  is  contained  in  the  unit  of  reference ;  namely,  the  one 
pound  of  unit  volatile  matter  as  above  outlined. 

A  number  of  coals  regularly  used  for  gas-making  purposes  have  re¬ 
cently  been  observed,  and  their  results  calculated  and  tabulated  with 
reference  to  their  volatile  matter  as  shown  below  in  Table  40.  They  are 
arranged  in  relative  order  with  reference  to  the  heat  value  per  pound 
of  volatile  substance,  and  are  shown  to  differ  in  an  interesting  manner. 
It  should  be  stated  further  that  these  differences  are  to  be  interpreted 
as  being  in  amounts  of  yield  rather  than  in  richness  of  the  gas,  for  the 
reason  as  already  explained  that  the  lower  heat  values  result  from  higher 
inert  constituents,  such  as  water  of  composition,  which  by  analysis  must 
be  reckoned  as  p>art  of  the  volatile  matter  but  which  because  of  its  con¬ 
densible  character  lessens  the  volume  of  the  permanent  gases.  By  the 
conditions  of  analysis  and  calculation,  however,  the  heat  value  is  made  to 
refer  to  the  entire  condensible  and  non-condensible  substance,  which  is 


136 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


frequently  designated  as  volatile  combustible  or  in  this  paper  simply  as 
volatile  matter. 

Attention  is  called  again  to  the  fact  that  the  values  in  the  last  col¬ 
umn  of  Table  40  refer  to  a  pound  of  volatile  substance  as  the  unit  of 
comparison.  Only  by  basing  the  values  upon  such  a  unit  of  reference 
can  we  gain  an  idea  of  the  character  of  the  volatile  matter  in  any  given 
sample. 

Of  course,  it  will  also  be  desirable  in  any  case  to  be  able  to  make  com¬ 
parison  between  the  heat  value  of  the  volatile  matter  per  pound  of  the 
coal  as  delivered,  as  a  knowledge  of  relative  cost  may  be  desired  rather 
than  a  study  of  the  type  or  character  of  the  volatile  matter  present. 
This  is  readily  indicated  by  the  following  calculation : 

Referring  again  to  the  Williamson  County  coal  (No.  1918)  the  heat 
value  on  the  dry-coal  basis  of  the  fixed  carbon  present,  calculated  at 
14,544  B.  t.  u.  per  pound,  would  be  55.61  X  14,544=8088  B.  t.  u.  This 
would  leave  for  the  volatile  matter  of  the  coal  a  value  of  13,173 — (8,088+ 
5000S),  S  being  the  sulphur,  with  a  heat  value  of  87  B.  t.  u.  Hence  we 
have  13,173  —  8,175=4,998.  This  latter  factor  4,998  shows  the  heat 
value  of  the  volatile  matter  which  is  present  in  each  pound  of  coal,  and 
does  not  afford  any  basis  of  comparison  as  between  the  property  or  com¬ 
positions  of  different  volatile  substances  themselves.  The  factor  as  thus 
derived  is  affected  by  such  variables  as  ash.  Hence  a  comparison  on  the 
dry  basis,  between  coals  as  actually  used  is  shown  by  Table  41.  The 
column  showing  the  heat-unit  values  for  the  percentage  of  volatile  mat¬ 
ter  present  is  arranged  in  the  order  of  their  relative  worth  per  pound 
of  coal  and  the  next  column  gives  the  value  per  pound  of  the  unit  vola¬ 
tile  matter  for  comparison.  Generally  they  correspond  as  to  order ;  but 
the  variations  in  the  quantity  of  volatile  matter,  such  as  an  unusually 
high  percentage,  in  some  instances  overcome  the  discrepancies  in  com¬ 
position,  and  the  order  is  reversed.  This  is  notably  the  case,  for  exam¬ 
ple,  with  coal  No.  4127. 

Attention  may  also  be  called  to  the  fact  that  values  for  the  pound 
unit  of  volatile  matter  may  be  obtained  by  dividing  4,998  by  the  cor- 

4,998  \/ 1  nn 

rected  volatile  matter  and  multiplying  by  100;  thus,  3+89  ++ X  tUU= 

15,068. 


Table  40. — Proximate  analyses  and  heat  values  of  fixed  carbon  and  volatile  matter  in  some  coal  samples 


VALUATION  OF  COAL  FOR  GAS  MANUFACTURE 


137 


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YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


Table  41. — Comparison  of  heat  values  per  pound  of  volatile  matter  and  heat  values 

of  volatile  matter  per  pound  of  coal 


Lab. 

No. 

Dry  coal 

B.  t.  u. 
per  pound 
volatile 
matter 

B.  t.  u. 
volatile 
matter  per 
pound  of  coal 

Fixed 

carbon 

Volatile 

matter 

B.  t.  u. 

1088 

52.52 

36.83 

13,016 

15,151 

4,243 

1800 

55.25 

34.53 

12,970 

14,700 

4,901 

1723 

53.88 

37.34 

13,173 

14,672 

5,277 

1116 

53.39 

36.72 

13,298 

15,636 

5,415 

4133 

55.14 

34.74 

13,600 

16,725 

5,467 

4126 

52.82 

33.86 

13,246 

17,081 

5,521 

4132 

56.84 

33.69 

13,886 

17,207 

5,565 

4134 

57.47 

35.14 

14,151 

16,918 

5,731 

4128 

54.59 

35.36 

13,812 

17,216 

5,789 

4125 

57.70 

35.10 

14,342 

17,384 

5,892 

4127 

49.87 

41.19 

13,463 

15,480 

6,119 

4185 

59.02 

36.58 

14,743 

17,099 

6,120 

4186 

57.42 

37.53 

14,649 

17,066 

6,255 

NEWLY  DISCOVERED  BEDS  OF  EXTINCT  LAKES  IN 
SOUTHERN  AND  WESTERN  ILLINOIS 
AND  ADJACENT  STATES 

By  E.  W.  Shaw 
U.S.  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 

(IN  COOPERATION  WITH  STATE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY) 

OUTLINE 

PAGE 

Problems  of  lowland  deposits  of  southern  and  western  Illinois .  141 

Physiographic  relations  of  the  lake  deposits .  142 

General  relations  .  142 

Details  from  Big  Muddy  A'alley .  144 

Shore  features  of  the  lakes .  147 

Nature  of  the  lake  deposits .  147 

Physical  characteristics  .  147 

Fossils  .  148 

Various  interpretations  of  the  lake  deposits  and  surface  features .  149 

V alley  filling  on  Mississippi  and  Ohio  rivers .  150 

General  relations  .  150 

Position  and  slope  of  terraces .  151 

Abandoned  parts  of  valleys .  151 

Effect  of  delta  extension .  152 

Effect  of  increase  in  stream  volume  on  thickness  of  alluvium .  152 

Explanation  of  thickness  of  recent  alluvium  on  the  Mississippi .  153 

Formation  of  lakes  .  153 

Cause  of  lakes  .  153 

Age  of  lakes  .  154 

Fluctuation  of  lakes  .  154 

Two  periods  of  lake  development .  155 

Other  events  .  155 

Names  for  processes  and  features .  155 

Summary  history  of  the  lake  deposits .  156 

ILLUSTRATIONS 

PLATE  PAGE 

XIII  Topographic  and  geologic  map  of  West  Frankfort,  Illinois,  and  vicinity  .  146 

XIV  Part  of  Madisonville,  Kentucky,  topographic  sheet .  148 

FIGURE 

5.  Lake  Muddy  in  southern  Illinois .  141 

6.  Longitudinal  section  of  deposits  of  Big  Muddy  River,  and  cross-section 

of  deposits  of  Mississippi  River .  143 

7.  Arrangements  of  principal  deposits  and  surface  features  along  Beaucoup 

Creek  .  145 

8.  Cross-section  of  lower  part  of  Mississippi  Valley .  151 

(  139  ) 


NEWLY  DISCOVERED  BEDS  OF  EXTINCT  LAKES  IN 
SOUTHERN  AND  WESTERN  ILLINOIS 
AND  ADJACENT  STATES 


PROBLEMS  OP  LOWLAND  DEPOSITS  OF  SOUTHERN  AND 

WESTERN  ILLINOIS 

Streams  and  stream  work  in  the  middle  part  of  the  Mississippi  basin 
have  several  interesting  peculiarities.  The  broad,  swampy,  bottom  land 
is  thickly  forested,  or  where  cleared  presents  a  tangle  of  tall  weeds,  or 
dense  fields  of  corn.  There  is,  however,  more  diversity  in  the  surface 
features  of  the  lowland  than  is  evident  at  first  sight,  and  the  deep  stream 
channels  and  washes  expose  a  variety  of  unconsolidated  materials,  con¬ 
sisting  chiefly,  however,  only  of  different  kinds  of  mud,  clay,  and  sandy 
clay.  The  present  paper  treats  one  of  several  problems  relative  to  the 
physiography  of  the  Ohio  and  central  Mississippi  valleys — that  of  extinct 
lakes  in  the  valleys  of  tributaries  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi. 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


142 


The  first  lake  beds  to  be  discovered  were  in  southern  Illinois ;  and  the 
lake  whose  certain  existence  was  first  demonstrated  lay  in  the  basin  of 
Big  Muddy  River  (fig.  5).  The  outlines  of  extinct  lakes  in  southern 
Illinois  are  somewhat  obscure  for  several  reasons:  shore  features  were 
only  slightly  developed ;  the  country  is  so  little  dissected  that  exposures  of 
the  lake  deposits  are  few ;  more  important  still, — since  the  lakes  covered 
only  the  lowest  areas  of  the  lowland  the  flat  surfaces  of  the  lake  deposits 
are  not  in  contrast  to  the  surrounding  land,  which  is  also  nearly  flat.  In 
western  Kentucky  and  eastern  Missouri,  however,  relief  is  generally 
greater,  and  the  fiat  surfaces  of  the  lake  deposits  stand  out  in  marked 
contrast  to  the  bordering  hills. 

The  writer  believes  that  the  lakes  were  formed  on  tributaries  of  the 
Mississippi  and  Ohio  because  of  the  rapid  filling  of  the  channels  of  the 
master  streams  so  as  to  form  dams  across  the  mouths  of  the  tributaries. 

The  lower  half  or  third  of  each  tributary,  except  the  smaller  ones, 
flows  over  a  thick,  unconsolidated  mass,  which  is  similar  to  that  on  the 
larger  stream,  except  that  it  is  generally  less  coarse.  The  Wisconsin 
River  in  southwestern  Wisconsin  is  working  50  feet  or  more  above  a 
hard-rock  channel ;  Big  Muddy  River  in  southern  Illinois  flows  between 
mud  banks  in  a  broad,  shallow  valley  having  a  buried  channel  many  feet 
below;  in  Pennsylvania,  the  Monongahela  does  not  flow  over  bed  rock 
within  the  limits  of  the  State,  and  other  tributary  streams  show  similar 
features.  Thus,  not  only  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  and  of  the  Ohio, 
but  the  lower  part  of  almost  every  tributary  valley  in  the  northeast- 
central  states,  and  presumably  in  a  much  larger  territory,  is  partly 
filled  with  loose  sediment.  The  filling  comprises  a  variety  of  materials ; 
but  in  Illinois,  Indiana,  Kentucky,  Missouri,  and  Iowa,  the  sediment  on 
the  tributary  streams  consists  mainly  of  clay. 

In  the  presentation  and  analysis  of  the  evidence  special  attention  is 
given  to  Lake  Muddy  in  southern  Illinois  (fig.  5)  but  the  conclusions  are 
believed  to  apply  to  the  whole  series  of  extinct  lakes. 

PHYSIOGRAPHIC  RELATIONS  OF  THE  LAKE  DEPOSITS 

General  Relations 

Much  of  southern  and  western  Illinois  is  moderately  hilly,  the  relief 
being  generally  200  to  300  feet ;  but  extensive,  irregular,  lowland  areas 
lie  between  the  ranges  of  hills,  particularly  in  southern  Illinois,  at  some 
distance  from  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio  rivers,  where  many  areas  cover¬ 
ing  scores  or  hundreds  of  square  miles  have  a  maximum  relief  of  less 
than  100  feet.  These  are  the  old  lake  beds  modified  by  recent  erosion. 
They  are  found  as  flats  and  terraces  bordering  the  present  streams  and 


EXTINCT  LAKES  IN  SOUTHERN  AND  WESTERN  ILLINOIS 


148 


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144 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


are  related  to  certain  abnormal  features  of  the  stream  profiles  and  un¬ 
usual  shapes  of  the  valley  flats. 

The  upper  surface  of  the  lake  deposit  forms  a  terrace,  so  broad  and 
so  low  that  it  is  scarcely  perceptible,  although  commonly  separated  from 
the  flood  plain  by  a  low  scarp.  This  terrace  is  almost  horizontal,  and 
since  the  flood  plain  rises  upstream,  the  terrace  and  flood  plain  ap¬ 
proach  in  that  direction  and  finally  merge.  However,  the  flood  plain 
itself  is  nearly  horizontal  (for  the  streams  have  little  fall),  and  the  flood 
plain  and  terrace  of  some  rivers  are  distinct  for  40  miles  or  more. 

Considering  the  valleys  lengthwise  (fig.  6),  the  upper  part  of  each 
(A-B)  seems  normal,  but  a  middle  portion  (B-C)  at  the  head  of  the  lake 
fill  where  it  merges  with  the  flood  plain,  is  broad  and  swampy.  The 
gradient  in  the  lower  valley  (C-D)  is  extremely  gentle.  When  the  lakes 
were  first  permanently  drained  the  profile  of  each  stream  was  sloping  in 
the  upper  part,  and  horizontal  in  the  lower  where  the  fill  was.  Since 
then  the  stream  has  been  cutting  into  the  lower  end  of  the  fill  as  rapidly 
as  the  master  stream  would  allow  and  building  up  the  upper  end  of  the 
fill  in  its  attempt  to  smooth  out  the  kink  in  its  profile  produced  by  the 
valley  filling. 

Even  the  verv  smallest  of  the  streamlets  which  cross  the  fill  have  been 
%/ 

doing  a  similar  work,  so  that  the  edges  of  the  fill  are  commonly  built  a 
little  above  the  general  flat  surface,  and  much  of  this  additional  material 
seems  to  be  rainwash. 

One  of  the  related  characteristics  of  these  valleys  is  the  shape  of  the 
flood  plain.  In  the  first  division  it  is  of  ordinary  width  ;  in  the  second 
it  is  very  broad;  and  in  the  third  it  is  very  narrow.  The  reasons  are 
readily  explained :  The  upper  stream  courses  have  not  been  affected  by 
the  ponding  and  consequently  the  shape  of  the  valleys  is  not  unusual. 
In  the  central  parts  of  the  streams  downward-cutting  was  checked  by 
the  ponding,  and  this,  together  with  some  filling,  helped  to  give  breadth 
to  the  flood  plain  after  the  lakes  were  drained.  Along  the  lower  stream 
courses,  a  similar  effect  was  produced  by  the  filling,  except  that  it  was 
thicker ;  and  the  top,  which  formed  a  flood  plain  when  the  lakes  were 
drained,  was  even  broader.  Now,  however,  the  streams  have  cut  into 
this  broader  part,  and  developed  new  flood  plains  at  a  lower  position,  and 
these  are  narrow  because  they  are  young.  These  features  are  shown 
diagrammaticallv  in  figure  7. 

Details  from  Big  Muddy  Valley 

The  valleys  and  streams  tributary  to  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio  are 
thus  similar  in  certain  characteristics  by  which  each  may  be  separated 
into  three  natural  divisions.  Big  Muddy  may  be  considered  a  type  and 


EXTINCT  LAKES  IN  SOUTHERN  AND  WESTERN  ILLINOIS 


145 


described  in  detail.  It  rises  at  an  altitude  of  about  500  feet  on  the  divid¬ 
ing  line  between  Jefferson  and  Marion  counties,  flows  south  through  Jef¬ 
ferson,  Franklin,  Williamson,  and  Jackson  counties,  and  discharges  into 
the  Mississippi  in  the  northwest  corner  of  Union  County  at  a  low-water 


Creek,  Perry,  and  Jackson  counties,  Illinois.  The  filling  thickens,  and  the  flood  plain 
becomes  narrower  down  stream.  When  the  lake  became  extinct,  the  bed  became  a 
great  swamp.  The  stream  first  cut  into  the  lower  end  of  the  fill,  draining  that  part 
of  the  swamp,  and  developing  a  narrow  flood  plain  below  the  surface  of  the  lake  silt. 
With  further  downward  cutting,  the  new  flood  plain  was  lowered,  and  extended  up 
stream,  and  the  swamp  area  was  reduced.  Meanwhile,  stream  deposits  continued  to 
accumulate  at  the  upper  end  of  the  lake  bed.  Many  other  valley  bottoms  are  similar 
to  this  one,  in  having  a  swampy,  central  portion. 

altitude  of  325  feet.  Its  mid-stream  length  is  about  135  miles,  and  its 
total  fall  is  about  270  feet.  In  the  first  20  miles,  the  fall  is  about  100 
feet,  or  5  feet  to  the  mile;  in  the  next  28  miles,  the  fall  is  40  feet,  or  less 
than  iy2  feet  to  the  mile;  in  the  third  division,  the  stream  falls  35  feet 
in  87  miles,  or  less  than  5  inches  to  the  mile.  The  remarkably  gentle 


146 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


gradient  in  the  lower  part  of  the  stream  is  less  than  the  gradient  of  the 
Mississippi,  which  flows  nearby,  and  which  has  a  fall  of  fully  7  inches  to 
the  mile. 

In  the  first  division  the  valley  seems  normal  in  all  respects,  and  rock 
outcrops  are  numerous.  In  the  second,  the  valley  is  broader,  the  bottom 
swampy,  and  the  stream  flows  over  an  unconsolidated  sandy  silt,  which 
widens  and  thickens  down  stream,  and  which  is  overflowed  at  every  time 
of  high  water.  In  the  third  division  the  stream  is  above  the  base  of  the 
fill,  and  rock  outcrops  are  absent  except  in  places  where  the  stream 
swings  into  one  side  of  the  valley.  In  this  division  the  gradient  is  very 
low ;  the  banks  are  of  mud  or  extremely  fine  sand ;  the  flood  plain  is  nar¬ 
row;  and  the  channel  is  very  deep  because  of  the  great  range  between 
high  and  low  water,  which  is  controlled  by  that  of  the  Mississippi. 

Another  unique  characteristic  of  the  valleys  affected  by  lake  filling 
is  that  in  places  they  interlace.  This  condition  is  illustrated  by  Big 
Muddy  Valley  (fig.  5).  Many  valley  floors  are  connected  through  di¬ 
vides  with  other  valley  floors.  Some  of  these  connecting  parts  are  broad, 
others  are  narrow  and  strait-like,  and  the  severed  parts  of  the  divide  are 
massive.  In  many  places  the  flat  valley  floor  surrounds  hills,  isolated 
like  islands  (see  also  Plate  XIV).  Though  bare  cliffs  are  few,  the  val¬ 
ley  sides  seem  to  be  abnormally  steep  above  the  flood  plain,  because  the 
lower  gentle  walls  of  the  valley  have  been  covered  by  alluvium.  Many 
of  the  phenomena  thus  far  described  are  illustrated  in  Plate  XIII. 

It  shows:  (1)  the  swampy  surface  of  the  later  lake  deposit  near  the 
head  of  the  lake  or  along  the  middle  stream  courses;  (2)  extensive  lenti¬ 
cular  deposits  of  very  fine  wash,  forming  a  peculiar  kind  of  compound 
alluvial  fan.  (Note  particularly  the  one  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the 
district,  and  the  form  of  the  400-foot  contour  on  the  north  side  of  Ewing 
Creek;  (3)  several  “Island  Hills,’' — the  largest  of  these  is  over  100  feet 
in  height,  and  bears  the  old  town  of  Frankfort,  about  iy2  miles  east  of 
West  Frankfort.  These  hills,  now  surrounded  by  flat-surfaced  lake  de¬ 
posits,  were  formerly  islands;  (4)  at  least  one  change  in  drainage  due 
to  lake  deposits,  for  the  creek  flowing  out  of  the  southwest  corner  of  the 
district  once  flowed  northward  and  out  through  the  northeast  corner. 
Note  the  narrow  valley  of  this  stream  along  its  present  course,  and  com¬ 
pare  with  the  former  route  indicated  by  the  broad,  flat  surface  of  the 
earlier  lake  deposit  just  west  of  West  Frankfort.  Attempts  to  sink 
coal  shafts  at  that  place  have  been  abandoned  on  account  of  quicksand. 


I 


Illinois  State  Geological  Survey 


Bulletin  No.  120,  Plate  XIII 


Earlier  lake  deposit 


Topographic  and  geologic  map  of  West  Frankfort,  Illinois,  and  vicinity 

The  alluvial  fans  are  composed  of  loess,  washed  down  and  spread  over  the  foot  of  the  hills  and  over  the  edge  of  the  lake 
deposits,  the  altitude  of  which  is  395  to  460  feet.  The  later  lake  deposit  is  principally  clay,  bearing  up-stream  a  thin  coat 
of  stream  alluvium,  the  altitude  of  this  surface  being  385  ta  395  feet.  The  earlier  lake  deposit,  which  is  fine  sand  with  some 
clay,  is  partly  buried  under  wash  and  stream  alluvium.  The  altitude  of  this  surface  is  395  to  410  feet.  The  unshaded 
portions  represent  areas  which  stand  higher  than  the  stream  and  lake  deposits,  and  which  are  hills  of  consolidated  rock  bear¬ 
ing  a  mantle  of  glacial  till  overlain  by  loess. 


Alluvial  fans 


Later  lake  deposit 


EXTINCT  LAKES  IN  SOUTHERN  AND  WESTERN  ILLINOIS 


147 


SHORE  FEATURES  OF  THE  LAKES 

Shore  features  were  generally  poorly  developed,  though  12  to  15 
miles  northeast  of  Madisonville,  Kentucky,  50  miles  by  water  from  the 
Ohio  River,  there  are  beautifully  developed  and  well-preserved  beach 
ridges.  These  ridges  are  very  symmetrical,  being  20  to  50  feet  wide  and 
8  to  10  feet  high.  They  are  composed  of  sand  and  fine  gravel,  and  are 
situated  across  the  mouths  of  small  tributary  valleys.  One  reason  for  the 
excellent  development  of  gravel  ridges  at  this  place  is  the  abundant  avail¬ 
able  supply  of  loosely  cemented  conglomerate,  probably  of  late  Tertiary 
age.  The  conglomerate  consists  principally  of  rounded  quartz  and  sub- 
angular  flint  pebbles  in  a  sand  and  silt  matrix.  Elsewhere,  probably  be¬ 
cause  well-rounded  pebbles  in  large  amounts  were  not  within  reach  of 
the  lakes  no  other  well-developed  ridges  have  been  found.  At  numerous 
places  where  the  bank  of  one  of  the  lakes  was  easily  eroded,  there  is  some 
suggestion  of  wave  cutting,  but  the  evidence  has  been  almost  obliterated 
by  recent  erosion.  Another  reason  for  the  general  poor  development  of 
shore  features  is  that  owing  to  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  rivers  the  lakes 
were  continually  fluctuating  and  were  even  intermittent  at  times.  Thus 
particularly  in  districts  of  low  relief,  the  shores  of  the  lakes  did  not 
stand  in  one  position  long  enough  to  develop  shore  features.  The  map 
(PL  XIV)  shows  the  beach  ridges  and  surrounding  surface  features 
east  of  Madisonville,  Kentucky. 

NATURE  OF  THE  LAKE  DEPOSITS 
Physical  Characteristics 

The  lake  deposits  consist  mainly  of  clay  which  varies  from  greenish 
gray  to  purple  gray,  and  from  medium  plasticity  to  1  ‘gumbo.”  The 
lower  part,  in  which  the  purplish  tints  are  developed,  is  evenly  stratified, 
and  in  places  finely  laminated.  The  upper  part  has  less  distinct  strati¬ 
fication,  and  is  characterized  by  numerous,  irregular,  concretionary 
masses  of  lime.  Around  the  border,  and  in  the  up-stream  parts  of  the 
deposits,  are  lenses  of  fine  sand ;  but  considering  the  formation  as  a  whole 
sand  forms  a  remarkably  small  part.  With  the  exception  of  the  concre¬ 
tionary  lime,  some  particles  of  which  are  as  small  as  sand  grains,  most 
of  the  deposit  is  without  perceptible  grit.  In  ground  plan,  the  bodies  of 
clay  are  very  irregular  and  even  interlacing,  a  condition  which  would  be 
expected  of  valley  fills  in  a  country  of  medium  to  low  relief.  The  sur¬ 
face  of  the  clay  in  each  valley  is  horizontal,  and  lies  5  to  75  feet  above 
low  water,  but  the  altitude  varies  from  valley  to  valley.  Near  Cairo  the 
surface  of  the  clay  is  345  feet  above  sea  level;  at  Galena,  Illinois,  400 


148 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


miles  lip  the  Mississippi,  it  is  650  feet;  and  there  is  a  corresponding  in¬ 
crease  in  altitude  up  the  Ohio. 

Thus,  although  the  clay  in  each  tributary  valley  and  its  branches  is 
usually  isolated  and  lies  at  a  different  altitude  from  that  in  every  other 
valley,  the  different  bodies  have  so  regular  an  arrangement  and  so  many 
characteristics  in  common,  that  there  can  be  little  question  as  to  their 
close  relationship  and  probable  origin  as  lake  deposits.  Exposures  of 
the  clay  are  to  be  found  at  the  mouth  of  each  tributary,  along  stream 
courses,  in  wells,  and  coal  shafts.  Most  of  the  lakes  were  nearly  filled 
with  sediment  before  the  main  streams  began  to  cut  down  again.  Now, 
however,  the  tributary  streams  have  cut  narrow  trenches  which  deepen 
down  stream  and  expose  in  some  places  as  much  as  40  feet  of  the  lake 
deposit. 


Fossils 


Good  collections  of  fossils  were  obtained,  the  fauna  consisting  of 
nearly  a  score  of  species  of  gastropods,  and  lamellibranchs ;  and,  un¬ 
doubtedly,  further  search  might  reveal  many  more  species,  including 
perhaps  vertebrate  and  plant  remains.  Most  of  the  forms  collected  were 
those  which  inhabit  lagoons  and  the  quiet  parts  of  streams.  One,  Cam¬ 
peloma,  is  a  scavenger  living  on  decaying  matter.  Others,  particularly 
Amnicola  and  Valvata,  frequent  lily  ponds.  Some,  such  as  Vertigo,  are 
northern  forms  such  as  are  found  at  present  from  Wisconsin  northward. 
Sphaerium  is  found  today  on  the  mud  bottoms  of  pools  throughout  a 
large  territory.  The  following  fossils  of  aquatic  species  were  collected 
at  two  localities  on  Beaucoup  Creek,  Jackson  County,  Illinois:  (1)  just 
west  of  Grubbs,  and  (2)  three  miles  south  of  Vergennes: 


Shells  from  valley  filling  near  Grubbs 


Campeloma  decisum,  Say 
Lioplex  subcarinata,  Say 


Lymnaea  desidiosa,  Say 
Planorbis  bicarinatus,  Say 
Segmentina  armigera,  Say 
Planorbis  deflectus,  Say 
Sphaerium  stamineum,  Concord 
Corneocylas,  sp. 


Somatogyrus  subglobosus,  Say 
Amnicola  limosa,  Say 
Valvata  tricarinata,  Say 
Pomatiopsis  lapidaria,  Say 


Shells  from  valley  filling  3  miles  south  of  Vergennes 


Campeloma  decisum,  Say 
Somatogyrus  subglobosus,  Say 
Amnicola  limosa,  Say 
Ancylus  tardus,  Say 
Valvata  tricarinata,  Sav 
Pomatiopsis  lapidaria,  Say 
Lymnea  desidiosa,  Say 
Planorbis  bicarinatus,  Say 


Segmentina  armigera,  Say 
Planorbis  deflectus,  Say 
Sphaerium  stamineum,  Concord 
Corneocyclas,  sp. 

Pulmonates 

Zonitoides  minuscula,  Binney 
Pyramidula  anthonyi,  Pilsbry 
Vertigo  gouldi,  Morse 
Succinea,  sp. 


Illinois  State  Geological  Survey  Bulletin  No.  20,  Plate  XIV 


Illinois  State  Geological  Survey 


Bulletin  No.  20,  Plate  XIV 


Part  of  Madisenville,  Kentucky,  topographic  sheet,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  showing  bed  and  beach  of  extinct  Green  Lake 
(named  from  Green  River,  which  now  drains  the  lake  bed)  and  several  “island  hills.’’  (Note  particularly  those  marked  A  and 
K).  The  thickness  of  the  lake  deposit  here  is  about  30  feet,  and  surface  3S1  to  395  feet  above  sea  level. 


EXTINCT  LAKES  IN  SOUTHERN  AND  WESTERN  ILLINOIS 


149 


The  lime  masses  may  be  secretions  of  blue-green  algae,  though  now 
they  show  little  organic  structure.  They  are  more  abundant  in  the  thin¬ 
ner  parts  of  the  formation,  and  this  may  be  due  to  the  fact  that  lime- 
secreting  algae  flourish  in  very  shallow  or  intermittent  waters. 

VARIOUS  INTERPRETATIONS  OF  THE  LAKE  DEPOSITS  AND 

SURFACE  FEATURES 

Although  the  deposit  under  discussion  has  frequently  been  noted  in 
the  course  of  general  geologic  field  work,  it  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
considered  a  distinct  formation.  It  has  either  been  classed  with  other 
and  better-known  surficial  formations,  or,  at  most,  recognized  as  some¬ 
thing  peculiar,  and  thus  seems  to  have  received  various  interpretations 
in  different  parts  of  the  region.  Since  the  results  of  most  of  the  detailed 
work  in  the  region  have  not  yet  appeared  in  published  form,  and  since 
there  is  only  obscure,  and  uncertain  reference  to  the  deposit  in  the  re¬ 
ports  published,  it  is  not  practicable  to  give  exact  and  satisfactory  refer¬ 
ences.  The  deposit,  however,  seems  to  have  received  the  following  inter¬ 
pretations  :  it  has  been  regarded  as  glacial  drift ;  a  lowland  phase  of  the 
loess ;  an  old,  normal  flood-plain  deposit ;  a  backwater  deposit  from 
glacial  floods  on  the  larger  streams ;  a  deposit  due  to  subsidence ;  or  a 
deposit  due  to  a  climatic  change.  In  southwestern  Wisconsin,  a  sandy 
deposit,  no  doubt  closely  related  to  the  clay,  has  been  attributed  to  the 
work  of  streams,  whose  outlets  were  blocked  by  glacial  debris  and  glacial 
floods.  Certain  deposits  in  southwestern  Indiana,  which  have  been  called 
stratified  loess,  differ  from  the  clay  under  discussion  in  that  (1)  they  lie 
at  higher  altitudes;  (2)  they  are  yellowish  and  soft  when  dry,  whereas 
the  lacustrine  clay  is  greenish  and  hard  when  dry;  (3)  its  fossils  are 
almost  entirely  land  shells,  whereas  those  in  the  lower  clay  are  aquatic. 

The  clay  is  not  glacial  drift,  for  it  contains  no  stones  and  but 
little  sand ;  and  much  of  it  lies  outside  the  glacial  boundary.  Moreover, 
it  is  found  only  in  the  lowest  places,  and  its  upper  surface  is  horizontal, 
regardless  of  the  underlying  surface  of  hard  rock.  It  is  not  loess,  for  it 
lacks  the  uniform  fineness  of  grain  characteristic  of  that  material,  and 
it  fills  all  depressions  up  to  certain  altitudes,  not  being  found  at  higher 
positions.  Its  thickness  and  other  characteristics  already  described  show 
that  it  is  not  a  normal  flood-plain  deposit.  The  clay  could  scarcely 
be  a  simple  backwater  deposit  due  to  glacial  floods  on  master  streams 
without  the  help  of  a  valley  train,  because  the  accumulation  of  such  a 
lake  deposit  would  require  a  sustained  river  depth  of  about  200  feet  for 
thousands  of  years.  A  subsidence  of  the  surface  might  lead  to  the 
development  of  a  few  bodies  of  clay,  having  the  shape  and  arrangement 


150 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


of  those  under  discussion,  but  warping  sufficiently  complex  to  cause 
the  regular  arrangement  and  shape  of  so  many  bodies  of  clay  is  incon¬ 
ceivable.  Nor  could  the  clay  deposits  have  been  produced  by  climatic 
change,  for  such  deposits  slope  down  stream,  and  these  are  horizontal. 

These  features  of  the  lower  parts  of  valleys  tributary  to  the  Missis¬ 
sippi  and  Ohio, — the  broad  bottoms  in  hilly  country,  the  steep  valley 
sides,  and  the  irregularly  branching  character  of  the  valleys — point 
toward  valley  filling.  Exposures  and  well  sections  also  indicate  valley 
filling,  for  they  show  that  bed-rock  is  far  below  the  present  streams. 
The  limited  extent  of  the  clay  upstream ;  the  fineness  of  the  material ; 
the  fact  that  the  surface  is  horizontal,  and  that  the  clay  abuts  against 
thick  bodies  of  coarser  material  on  the  large  rivers ;  all  indicate  that  the 
clay  accumulated  in  lakes  produced  by  valley  fillings  on  the  master 
drainage  lines  of  the  region.  Therefore,  in  order  to  understand  the 
cause  and  history  of  the  lakes,  it  is  necessary  to  look  into  the  history  of 
the  large  rivers. 

VALLEY  FILLING  ON  THE  MISSISSIPPI  AND  OHIO  RIVERS 

General  Relations 

The  Mississippi  and  Ohio  rivers  flow  in  but  few  places  on  limestone, 
sandstone,  shale,  or  other  consolidated  rock.  Throughout  most  of  their 
courses  they  flow  over  a  valley  filling,  the  base  of  which  is  50  to  100 
feet  below  the  bed  of  the  stream.  The  deposits  consist  principally  of 
sand,  though  there  is  considerable  gravel  and  silt,  the  gravel  more 
abundant  at  the  base  and  the  silt  predominating  at  the  top  of  the  forma¬ 
tion.  As  shown  in  figure  8,  most  of  the  bottom  lands  lie  below  extreme 
high  water,  and  hence  the  surface  forms  a  flood  plain ;  but  here  and  there 
bodies  of  sand  and  gravel  stand  40  feet  above  the  reach  of  high  water, 
the  upper  surface  in  such  places  forming  a  terrace  at  the  altitude  of 
the  valley-filling  on  nearby  tributaries.  Evidently  the  river  valleys  were 
once  filled  up  to  the  surface  of  the  filling  on  the  tributaries  but  now 
have  been  almost  completely  cleared  out,  less  than  one  per  cent  of  the 
original  surface  remaining.  Most  of  the  surface  of  the  fill  on  the  Missis¬ 
sippi  has  been  lowered  about  40  feet.  On  the  other  hand,  less  than  a 
tenth  of  the  surface  of  the  fill  on  the  tributary  streams  has  been  cut 
away.  This  contrast  is,  undoubtedly,  due  to  the  greater  erosive  power 
of  the  Mississippi,  and  to  the  relative  narrowness  of  its  fill,  for  the  valley 
of  the  Mississippi  is  little  wider  than  that  of  some  of  its  smaller  tribu¬ 
taries.  The  unremoved  part  of  the  fill  is  about  160  feet  thick,  and  ex¬ 
tends  about  120  below  low  water,  although  the  range  between  high-  and 
low-water  stages  is  about  40  feet.  This  silted-up  condition,  with  certain 


EXTINCT  LAKES  IN  SOUTHERN  AND  WESTERN  ILLINOIS 


151 


exceptions,  prevails  throughout  a  large  region,  the  fill  extending  up  the 
Missouri  into  the  Dakotas,  and  up  the  Ohio  to  West  Virginia  and  north¬ 
ern  Pennsylvania.  A  cross-section  of  the  deposits  on  the  Mississippi  is 
shown  in  figure  8. 


Fig.  8.  Cross-section  of  lower  part  of  Mississippi  Valley,  13  miles  south  of 
Eads  bridge,  St.  Louis,  from  borings  made  by  United  States  Engineers.  Vertical 
lines  show  borings;  horizontal  lines  show  position  of  water  surface  at  various  stages 
of  the  river.  The  upper  irregular  line  represents  the  top  surface;  the  lowTer  line 
represents  the  surface  of  bed  rock  underneath  the  river  deposits  of  sand  and  gravel. 
The  deepest  part  of  the  old  valley  is  about  160  feet  below  the  flood  plain,  and  this 
holds  true  at  many  points  along  the  Mississippi. 

Position  and  Slope  of  Terraces 

The  occasional  bit  of  terrace  such  as  at  Monks  Mound  near  St. 
Louis,  40  feet  above  the  flood  plain,  which  corresponds  closely  in  altitude, 
and  in  places  connects  with  the  fills  on  the  tributaries,  indicates  that  the 
valley  floor  was  formerly  40  feet  above  the  present  one.  The  old  valley 
floor  seems  to  have  had  about  the  same  down-stream  slope  as  the  present 
one, — for  example,  between  St.  Louis  and  Cairo  the  grade  was  about  7 
inches  to  the  mile.  These  slopes,  which  are  parallel  to  the  present  river 
profile,  are  high,  presumably  because  the  river  has  dealt  with  such  tre¬ 
mendous  loads  of  glacial  material  that  the  gradient  has  not  been  reduced 
to  that  of  streams  of  like  size.  The  fall  of  the  Nile,  from  Assuan  to 
Cairo,  a  distance  of  over  700  miles,  is  less  than  5  inches  to  the  mile,  and 
the  fall  of  the  Amazon  is  for  considerable  stretches  less  than  2  inches 
to  the  mile. 

Abandoned  Parts  of  Valleys 

There  is  notable  absence  of  buried  channels  in  the  vicinity  of 
Keokuk,  at  Grand  Tower,  and  in  other  places  where  the  river  has  for¬ 
saken  a  part  of  its  channel  and  taken  a  course  to  one  side.  The  deep 
abandoned  part  of  the  valley  and  its  buried  channel  may  be  easily  found 


152 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


in  such  places ;  but  at  Keokuk  the  old  valley  has  been  completely  filled 
with  stream  and  ice  deposits  and  is  known  only  through  borings.  The 
new  parts  of  valleys  are  gorges  without  buried  channels,  and  the  river 
flows  on  bed-rock  without  an  intervening  bed  of  sand  or  gravel.  Thus, 
two  distinct  kinds  of  valleys  are  found  here :  one  along  the  Mississippi 
and  Ohio  being  continuous,  deep,  of  medium  width,  partly  filled,  and 
occupied  by  the  rivers  throughout  most  of  their  courses;  the  other,  in¬ 
terrupted.  of  medium  depth,  very  narrow,  and  without  filling,  forming 
a  kind  of  cut-off  or  side-track  to  the  larger  valley. 

Effect  of  Delta  Extension 

The  question  naturally  arises, — may  not  the  partial  filling  of  the 
Mississippi  gorge  be  due  to  the  extension  of  the  Mississippi  delta,  because 
stream  lengthening  in  this  way  decreases  the  rate  of  fall  and  conse¬ 
quently  decreases  the  carrying  power.  That  delta  extension  has  had  an 
appreciable  effect  on  the  work  of  the  Mississippi  in  the  lower  end  of  its. 
course  is  incontrovertible,  but  if  it  has  had  any  effect  on  its  work  in 
Illinois  that  effect  is  so  obscured  by  other  factors  which  predominate 
that  it  is  not  recognizable  with  certainty.  Principal  among  these  factors 
are  glaciation,  comparatively  recent  deformation,  and  the  operations  of 
white  men.  There  is  some  indication  that  the  flood  plain  south  of  St. 
Louis  is  now  being  built  up,  and  this  may  be  due  wholly  or  in  part  to 
delta  extension.  Some  facts,  however,  indicate  that  the  Mississippi  is  at 
present  gradually  lowering  its  channel.  Analyses  of  the  water  indicate 
that  the  river  is  delivering  more  mineral  matter  to  the  Gulf  than  that 
which  it  carries  past  Cairo,  increased  by  the  additional  material  received 
from  tributaries  between  Cairo  and  the  Gulf.  In  any  case,  the  lakes 
cannot  be  ascribed  to  delta  extension  alone,  for  they  were  developed  at 
rather  sharply  localized  times.  Since  they  existed  the  main  work  of 
the  rivers  has  been  down  cutting. 

Effect  of  Increase  in  Stream  Volume  on  Thickness  of  Alluvium 

In  this  connection,  it  seems  worth  while  to  note  that  when  the  volume 
of  a  stream  is  increased,  the  vertical  distance  between  the  bottom  of  the 
channel  and  the  flood  plain  is  also  increased;  and  this  comes  about,  not 
alone  by  the  scouring  out  of  the  channel,  but  also  by  the  building  up 
of  the  alluvium.  Thus,  a  thick  stream  deposit  may  be  produced  simply 
by  an  increase  in  the  volume  of  water  without  any  change  in  the  size 
of  the  load.  This,  then,  is  another  probable  factor  in  the  development 
of  the  heavy  deposits  on  the  streams  flowing  away  from  the  ice  sheet. 
The  statement  is  often  made  that  a  certain  valley  was  once  full,  or  partly 


EXTINCT  LAKES  IN  SOUTHERN  AND  WESTERN  ILLINOIS 


153 


full,  of  water,  but  it  would  probably  have  taken  a  flood  much  greater, 
and  much  more  sudden  than  a  glacial  one,  to  have  produced  such 
a  condition,  because  the  discharge  of  a  river  increases  so  rapidly  as  the 
water  rises  that  an  unthinkable  amount  of  water  would  be  required  to 
cause  a  100-  or  a  200-foot  stage.  It  seems  more  probable  that,  with  in¬ 
creasing  discharge,  the  channel  would  enlarge,  and  perhaps  divide,  and 
that  a  part  of  the  valley  bottom  would  remain  at  flood-plain  level  and 
be  dry  except  during  high  water. 

« 

Explanation  of  Thickness  of  Recent  Alluvium  on  the  Mississippi. 

In  time  of  flood  the  Mississippi  stirs  the  valley  filling  to  great 
depths.  At  St.  Louis,  it  has  been  inferred  that  the  filling  is  commonly 
stirred  to  its  base,  for  in  excavating  for  bridge  piers,  bowlders  which 
seemed  to  have  been  moved  recently  were  found  resting  upon  scoured 
bed  rock.  From  this  it  might  be  inferred  that  the  enormous  body  of 
unconsolidated  material  along  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio  is  mainly  or  en¬ 
tirely  a  normal  flood-plain  deposit,  and  that  the  rivers  are,  and  have 
been,  continuously  deepening  their  valleys ;  though  in  order  to  accomplish 
this  they  must  stir  up  a  body  of  sand  and  gravel  100  to  160  feet  in 
thickness.  But  the  bridge  pier  excavation  at  St.  Louis  was  on  the  side 
of  the  valley  where  bed  rock  is  much  higher  than  out  in  the  middle. 
The  absence  of  thick  sediment  wherever  the  river  has  forsaken  its  old 
course ;  the  presence  on  the  tributaries  of  a  deep  filling  which  certainly 
is  never  stirred  to  its  bottom;  and  the  very  size  of  the  deposit  on  the 
main  streams  indicates  that  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio  are  dealing  with 
something  more  than  a  normal  flood-plain  deposit. 

Clearly  the  logical  source  of  the  old  filling  was  glacial  and  its  form 
was  essentially  that  of  a  valley  train. 

FORMATION  OF  THE  LAKES 
Causes  of  the  Lakes 

The  great  fillings  on  the  tributaries  thus  seem  to  owe  their  existence 
to  master-stream  deposits,  which  grew  more  rapidly  than  the  tributaries 
could  build  up.  The  sandy  deposit  along  the  main  streams  is  nearly 
uniform  in  thickness,  and  rises  up  stream,  whereas  the  clay  in  the 
tributary  valleys  has  a  horizontal  upper  surface  and  thins  out  upstream 
(see  figure  6).  At  the  same  time  other  tributaries  not  in  the  region 
under  discussion,  were  caused  to  aggrade,  and  some  of  them  which  had 
greater  normal  loads,  built  up  as  rapidly  as  the  trunk  streams.  For 
example,  apparently  no  lake  was  formed  on  the  Monongahela,  that  river 
having  built  up  a  body  of  sand  and  gravel  as  rapidly  as  the  Allegheny- 


154 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


Ohio  aggraded,  and  similarly  no  lake  seems  to  have  been  developed  on 
the  Sinsinawa  in  the  northwest  corner  of  Illinois. 

Age  of  the  Lakes 

The  age  of  the  lake  deposits  is  evidently  late  Quaternary.  They  are 
younger  than  the  Illinoian  till  for  they  nowhere  lie  beneath  that  material. 
Some  of  it  lies  on,  or  cuts  through,  the  till ;  and  some  lies  on,  or  cuts 
through,  the  loess.  From  this  and  the  fact  that  the  lake  deposit  terrace 
is  commonly  double,  it  is  inferred  that  there  were  two  distinct  times  of 
lake  development,  one  shortly  after  Illinoian  time  and  the  other  in  or 
near  Wisconsin  time.  Some  of  the  later  deposit  may  have  been  laid 
down  in  Recent  time,  for  although  it  is  customary  to  think  of  glacial  out- 
wash  deposits  as  having  developed  directly  ahead  of  the  ice,  it  seems  to 
the  writer  that  they  may  just  as  reasonably  have  been  formed  just  after 
the  glacier  melted.  To  be  sure,  glacial  streams  generally  interlace  and 
built  up  their  beds,  and,  no  doubt,  the  ice  front  retreated  very  slowly. 
It  would  seem,  however,  that  a  great  mantle  of  gravelly  rock-flour  would 
be  as  likely  to  cause  the  overloading  of  streams,  which  had  gradients 
adjusted  to  other  conditions,  as  would  the  material  delivered  directly 
to  streams  at  the  ice  front.  An  overloaded  condition,  in  a  large  stream 
like  the  Mississippi,  flowing  away  from  the  ice,  may  be  caused  by  an 
actual  increase  of  material  fed,  more  or  less  directly,  to  the  streams  by 
the  glacier.  It  may  also  be  caused  by  a  decrease  in  the  velocity,  and 
carrying  power  of  the  streams,  due  either  to  the  attraction  of  the  ice 
mass  or  to  crustal  deformation  caused  by  the  weight  of  the  ice.  It  is 
also  tenable  that  tributaries,  rapidly  cutting  new  valleys  in  the  drift 
after  the  melting  of  the  ice,  would  deliver  material  to  the  Mississippi 
at  a  rate  sufficient  to  overload  it.  It  is  even  possible  that  the  debris 
would  be  delivered  at  a  more  rapid  rate  than  before,  when  it  was  carried 
direct  from  the  glacier  to  the  rivers.  These  are  possibilities  which  are 
difficult  of  evaluation.  If  aggradation  on  the  Mississippi  continued  for 
some  time  after  the  Wisconsin  ice  melted,  then  the  deposit  is,  in  part  at 
least,  Recent  and  not  Wisconsin. 

Fluctuation  of  Lakes 

The  lakes  evidently  differed  from  most  bodies  of  quiet  water  inas¬ 
much  as  the  position  of  the  surface  varied  greatly  every  year,  because 
this  feature  was  controlled  by  the  various  stages  of  the  rivers.  No  doubt, 
many  of  the  lakes  were  dry  a  part  of  every  year.  Had  the  range  between 
high  and  low  water  been  the  same  then  as  now,  the  altitude  of  the  sur¬ 
faces  of  the  lakes  would  have  fluctuated  almost  40  feet.  However,  the  lakes 


EXTINCT  LAKES  IN  SOUTHERN  AND  WESTERN  ILLINOIS 


155 


formed  a  huge  reservoir,  so  that  with  the  same  discharge  as  at  present 
the  rivers  would  not  have  risen  nearly  so  much  in  time  of  flood.  Indeed, 
to  raise  the  surface  of  the  lakes  and  rivers  one  foot,  it  took  over  100,000,- 
000,000  cubic  feet,  or  nearly  a  cubic  mile  of  water.  Moreover,  every 
8-foot  rise  would  have  doubled  the  discharge  of  the  rivers,  thus  enabling 
tremendous  floods  to  be  accommodated  without  great  increase  in  depth 
of  water. 

Two  Periods  of  Lake  Development 

There  are  many  interesting  details  in  the  history  of  the  lakes,  but 
space  will  not  permit  mentioning  many  of  these.  Among  the  most  im¬ 
portant  is  the  fact  that,  evidently  there  were  at  least  two  periods  of 
lake  development,  and  that,  during  the  intervening  epoch,  the  first 
deposit  was  almost  cut  through.  The  deposit  in  the  later  lakes  is  not 
so  high  as  that  of  the  earlier  lakes,  and  so  the  two  valley  fillings  are 
marked  by  terraces  with  tops  vertically  10  to  20  feet  apart. 

OTHER  EVENTS 

There  is  some  indication  that,  at  one  time,  a  part  of  Mississippi 
River  left  its  present  course  50  miles  north  of  Cairo,  and  flowed  east¬ 
ward  across  Illinois  to  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash,  but  if  it  did  so  it  did 
not  hold  this  position  long,  for  it  did  not  do  much  eroding  or  depositing. 
Another  fact  worth  mentioning  is  that  certain  valleys  in  the  interior 
lowland  of  Illinois  are  broad  and  shallow,  but  have  high,  steep  walls 
near  the  Mississippi.  During  periods  of  high  water  the  sediment  of  the 
Mississippi  was  carried  into  these  valleys  with  a  current  of  considerable 
strength.  Thus,  at  the  time  the  lakes  existed,  the  Mississippi  flowed 
rapidly  through  the  narrow  part  of  the  Big  Muddy  Valleys,  toward  the 
broader,  inland  part,  and  deposited  a  great  fan-shaped  mass  of  sand, 
now  the  site  of  the  town  of  Murphysboro.  The  Kaskaskia  and  other 
tributaries  were  similarly,  though  not  so  markedly  affected. 

NAMES  FOR  THE  PROCESSES  AND  FEATURES 

It  seems  probable  that  the  rather  extensive  development  of  deposits, 
resulting  in  the  topographic  features  described  in  this  paper,  will  lead 
to  the  introduction  of  some  new,  descriptive  terms.  Perhaps,  it  will  be 
found  convenient  to  use  contra-gradation  or  dam  gradation  to  designate 
stream  aggradation  caused  by  an  obstruction,  or  more  broadly  by  de¬ 
crease  in  velocity ;  and  perhaps,  to  invent  other  terms  covering  aggrada¬ 
tion  due  to  decrease  in  volume,  and  increase  in  load.  If  the  obstruction 
develops  rapidly  enough  to  produce  ponded  water,  as  in  the  case 


156 


YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1910 


described  by  the  present  paper,  the  deposit  taken  as  a  whole  will  be  very 
fine  grained,  and  the  top,  though  more  or  less  concave,  will  be  nearly 
horizontal.  The  bottom  of  Big  Muddy  Valley  may  be  used  as  the  type 
for  the  resulting  topographic  feature.  In  this  instance,  Muddy  may  be 
an  acceptable  name,  since  it  refers  to  a  particular  type ;  to  a  principal 
character  of  the  deposit ;  to  the  streams  which  flow  over  it ;  as  well  as  to 
the  general  character  of  the  country  in  which  it  is  a  feature.  On  the 
other  hand,  when  the  aggradation  keeps  pace  with  the  growth  of  the 
dam,  the  material  is  generally  coarser,  and  the  upper  surface  rises  up 
stream,  though  more  slowly  than  the  original  stream  channel.  For  such 
a  process  and  the  resulting  topographic  feature  the  development  and 
form  of  the  low  terrace  along  Big  Sandy  River  in  eastern  Kentucky 
may  be  taken  as  a  type,  and  the  surface  feature  may  be  called  a  Sandy. 
Perhaps,  it  will  also  be  found  desirable  to  designate  technically  the 
island-like  hills  surrounded  by  the  deposit  as  Island  Hills;  and  the  hill, 
which  bears  the  town  of  Island,  Kentucky,  may  be  taken  as  a  type. 

SUMMARY  HISTORY  OF  THE  LAKE  DEPOSITS 

In  late  glacial  time,  the  beds  of  the  rivers  were  about  100  feet  below 
those  of  the  present  time.  This  great  depth  may  have  been  produced 
in  a  pre-glacial,  or  possibly  an  inter-glacial  epoch,  by  a  regional  uplift ; 
or  it  may  have  been  caused  by  the  deep  scouring  of  glacial  floods.  The 
tributaries  entered  the  flood  plains  of  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio  on 
channel  bottoms  only  about  10  feet  lower  than  those  in  use  todav.  The 
tributary  flood  plains  occupied  a  position  near  their  present  channel 
bottoms,  these  positions  having  been  controlled  by  low-  and  high-water 
stages  of  the  master  streams.  At  low-water  stage  no  standing  water  was 
in  the  tributaries,  but  at  high-water,  the  30-  to  50-foot  channels  were 
filled  by  backwater  from  the  rivers,  so  that,  intermittently,  long,  narrow, 
winding  lakes  were  formed.  When  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio  began  to 
aggrade,  both  the  low-  and  high-water  marks  on  them  and  on  their  tribu¬ 
taries  were  raised.  At  low  water,  embryo  perennial  lakes  were  formed 
in  the  channels  of  the  tributaries  at  their  mouths ;  and  at  high  water 
the  flood  plains  were  covered  more  deeply  than  before.  The  area 
covered,  both  at  low-  and  high-water  stages,  was  gradually  extended 
until  the  low-water  stage  reached  the  altitude  of  the  former  flood  plain. 
From  this  time,  perennial  bodies  of  quiet  water,  of  considerable  size, 
were  on  each  tributary;  and  wedge-shaped  masses  of  lake  deposit,  being 
nearly  100  feet  thick  at  the  lower  ends  and  becoming  so  thin  as  to  be 
almost  imperceptible  up  stream,  accumulated  on  the  old  flood  plain. 

Nearly  all  the  material  deposited  in  the  lakes  was  fine  sediment, 


EXTINCT  LAKES  IN  SOUTHERN  AND  WESTERN  ILLINOIS 


157 


such  as  would  be  carried  in  suspension ;  and  the  lakes  seem  to  have  been 
filled  with  this  material  up  to  certain  concordant  positions,  probably 
to  the  position  of  a  flood  plain,  or  just  below  the  high-water  mark  of 
the  time. 

When  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio,  after  a  time,  became  able  to  carry 
not  only  all  of  the  load  delivered  to  them,  but  a  little  more,  they  began 
to  cut  down  again.  Perhaps,  even  before  this  time,  the  lakes  had  be¬ 
come  intermittent,  and  at  times  of  high  water  were  drained,  for  they 
were  almost  filled  with  sediment.  The  great,  flat,  lake  bottoms  became 
swamps,  and  channels  began  to  deepen  again  at  the  former  outlets. 
At  the  same  time,  the  swamps  began  to  be  drained  at  the  lower  ends. 
The  process  of  swamp  draining  has  continued  to  the  present,  and,  on 
medium-sized  streams,  only  10  to  20  miles  of  swamp  now  remain,  for 
the  lower  20  to  50  miles  have  been  drained. 


INDEX 


A 

PAGE 

Adams  County,  clay  products  in.. 36,  37 


lime  production  for .  38 

Addieville,  structure  at .  63 

Alexander  County,  clay  products  in  36 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

sandstone  production  for .  38 

tripoli  in  .  42 

work  in  .  12 


Andrew,  altitude  of  coal  No.  5  at.  .  110 
Annapolis,  gas  supply  at .  33 


Ashley,  terrace  near . 64,  65 

Athens,  altitude  of  coal  No.  5  at..  110 

McLeansboro,  formation  at .  105 

structure  near  .  109 

Auburn,  coal  No.  6  at .  99 

Augusta,  geodetic  position  of .  16 

Augustana  College,  cooperation  of.  12 

Aviston,  arch  at . 64,  65 

Avon  quadrangle,  work  in .  16 


B 


Baldwin,  structure  near .  64 

Bannister,  H.  M.,  acknowledgment 

to . 100 

Barnstable  well  No.  1,  partial  rec¬ 
ord  of  .  90 

Bartelso  dome  .  61 

Beaucoup,  terrace  near . 64,  65 

Beckemeyer,  coal  No.  6  and  struc¬ 
ture  at  .  60 

log  of  well  at . 79-80 

Belleville,  anticline  near . 64,  65 

Belleville  quadrangle,  topographic 

work  in  .  46 

Benoist  sand,  oil  from .  27 

Best  well  No.  1,  partial  record  of . .  91 

Big  Muddy  River,  drainage  sur¬ 
vey  of  .  16 

Big  Muddy  River,  lake  deposits  of  142 

Birds,  gas  supply  at .  33 

Birdsville,  formation,  drillings 

through  .  73 

in  Carlyle  field . 53,  54 

Blue  band  in  coal  No.  6 .  113 

Bond  County,  clay  products  in. ..36,  37 

coal  production  in . 24,  25 

gas  field  in . 13,  27,  33 

prospecting  in  .  32 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

Boone  County,  clay  products  in.. 36,  37 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

Breese  quadrangle,  topographic 

work  in  .  46 


PAGE 

Bridgeport,  gas  supply  at .  33 

Bridgeport  sand,  oil  from .  27 

Brownstown,  structure  near .  27 

Buchanan  sand,  oil  from .  27 

Bureau  County,  clay  products  in.. 36,  37 

coal  production  in . 23,  24 

gas  in .  34 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

Bureau  of  Mines,  U.  S.,  cooper¬ 
ation  of  .  9,  13 

Burlington  formation  in  Spring- 

field  quadrangle .  103 

in  Carlyle  field .  53 


C 

Calhoun  County,  clay  products  in. 36,  37 

work  in .  12 

Cambrian  strata  in  Carlyle  field...  48 

Canton  quadrangle,  work  in .  16 

Cantrall,  altitude  of  coal  No.  5 

at  . ..110,  112 

Carbondale  formation,  drillings 

through  .  73 

in  Carlinville  field .  85 

in  Carlyle  field . 55,  69 

in  Springfield  quadrangle . 103-105 

Carboniferous  series  in  Carlinville 

field  . 85-88 

in  Carlyle  field . 48,  53-56 

in  Springfield  quadrangle . 103-106 

Carlinville,  gas  supply  at .  33 

oil  field  at . 83-95 

Carlinville  limestone . 85,  86 

Carlyle,  coal  No.  6  at .  60 

log  of  wells  near . 51,  52 

Carlyle  anticline  . 60-61 

Carlyle  oil  field,  discovery  of.  .13,  26,  66 

discussion  of  . 43-80 

Carlyle  quadrangle,  topographic 

work  in  .  45 

Carroll  County,  clay  products  in.  .36,  37 

lime  production  for .  38 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

sandstone  production  for .  38 

Carthage  quadrangle,  work  in .  16 

Casey,  gas  supply  at .  33 

oil  wells  at .  26 

Cass  County,  clay  products  in. ...36,  37 

Cement,  production  of . 22,  39 

Census  Bureau,  U.  S.,  work  of .  .  .  .14,  21 
Centralia  oil  pool,  development 

of . . 26,  27,  69 

Champaign  County,  clay  products 

in  . 36,  37 

gas  in  .  34 


(  159  ) 


160 


index — Continued 


PAGE 

Chatham,  coal  No.  6  at.. . 113,  119 

Chester  group,  absence  of,  in  Car- 

linville  field  .  87 

in  Carlyle  field . 53-54 

near  Chester . 53,  54,  68 

oil  from  .  27 

Christian  County,  clay  products 

in  . 36,  37 

coal  production  in . 23,  24 

Cincinnatian  formation  in  Carlyle 

field  . . . .  49 

Clark  County,  gas  in . 33,  34 

oil  field  in .  26 

clay  products  in . 36,  37 

prospecting  in .  32 

Clay  County,  prospecting  in .  27 

Clay,  production  of . 34-38 

tests  on  .  14 

Clay  products  of  Springfield  quad¬ 
rangle  . 127-130 

production  of . 9,  22,  34-38 

Clinton  County,  clay  products  in.. 36,  37 

coal  production  in . 24,  25 

geology  of  . 43-80 

oil  field  in . 26,  45 

prospecting  in  .  28 

Coal,  formation  of .  48 

gas  value  of . 134-138 

prices  of  .  23 

production  of . 9,  13,  22-25,  99,  122 

Coal  fields,  work  in .  12 

“Coal  Measures”,  see  Carboniferous 
Coals,  minor,  in  Springfield  quad¬ 
rangle  .  115 

Coal  No.  2  in  Carlyle  field . 55,  69 

in  Springfield  quadrangle .  104 

Coal  No.  15,  chemical  analyses  of 

. .  125-126 

in  Springfield  quadrangle . 

. 99,  104,  115-119 

structure  of  . 107-112 

Coal  No.  6,  at,  in,  or  near: 

Auburn  .  99 

Beckemeyer  .  60 

Carlinville  field . 85,  86-87,  89 

Carlyle  field . 55,  60,  69 

Divernon .  99 

Huey  .  60 

Mascoutah  .  65 

Monroe  County .  57 

Pawnee  .  99 

Peoria  quadrangle  .  114 

St.  Louis .  57 

Sandoval  .  57 

Springfield  quadrangle . 

. 104,  105,  113,  119 

Yalmeyer  .  57 

Coal  No.  7  in  Springfield  quad¬ 
rangle . 105,  107,  113,  114,  120 


PAGE 

Coal  No.  8  in  Springfield  quad¬ 


rangle . 106,  120 

Coke,  production  of .  25 

Colchester  quadrangle,  work  in...  16 

Coles  County,  clay  products  in... 36,  37 

prospecting  in  .  32 

Contours,  structure,  explanation 

of  . 58-59 

Cook  County,  clay  products  in... 36,  37 

limestone  production  for .  38 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

Crawford  County,  clay  products 

in  . 36,  37 

coal  production  in . 24,  25 

drainage  work  in .  16 

gas  in  . 33,  34 

oil  field  in .  26 

prospecting  in  .  32 

Crow’s  Mill  limestone  in  Spring- 

field  quadrangle  .  114 

Cumberland  County,  gas  in . 33,  34 

oil  production  in .  26 

prospecting  in  .  32 

topographic  work  in .  16 


Cypress  sandstone  in  Carlyle  field.  .  53 

D 


Darmstadt  anticline  .  63 

De  Kalb  County,  clay  products  in. 36,  37 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

Denby  well  No.  1,  partial  record 

of  . 90,  91 

Deter  well  No.  1,  log  of . 77-78 

No.  2,  log  of .  75 

Devonian  strata  in  Carlyle  field.. 40,  49 

in  Springfield  quadrangle .  103 

De  Witt  County,  clay  products  in. 36,  37 

gas  in  .  34 

Divernon,  coals,  at.... 89,  113,  114,  119 
Douglas  County,  clay  products  in. 36,  37 

Drainage  work  . 15-16 

Drilling,  costs  of .  72 

methods  of  .  73 

Du  Page  County,  clay  products  in. 36,  37 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

Duquoin,  structure  near . 27,  28 


E 

Earlville,  quadrangle,  work  in....  16 

Eaton  quadrangle,  work  in .  16 

Edgar  County,  clay  products  in.. 36,  37 

gas  in  .  34 

oil  production  in .  26 

prospecting  in  .  32 

Edwards  County,  clay  products 

in  . . . . 36,  37 

Effingham  County,  clay  products 

in  . . . 36,  37 


index — Continued 


161 


PAGE 

Elizabeth  quadrangle,  work  in...  10,  14 
Embarrass  River,  drainage  survey 

of  .  16 


F 

Payette  County,  clay  products  in. 36,  37 


sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

Plat  Rock,  gas  supply  at .  33 

Fluorspar,  production  of . 22,  42 

Ford  County,  clay  products  in... 36,  37 

Fossils  in  lake  deposits .  148 

Franklin  County,  clay  products 

in  . 36,  37 

coal  production  in . 23,  24 

drainage  work  in .  16 

Fulton  County,  clay  products  in.. 36,  37 

coal  production  in . 23,  24 

drainage  work  in .  16 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

sandstone  production  for .  38 

topographic  work  in .  16 


G 


Galena,  lake  deposits  near .  147 

Galena  quadrangle,  work  in . 9,  14 

Galena-Trenton  limestone  in  Car¬ 
lyle  field . 48,  49 

Galatia  quadrangle,  work  in .  9 

Gallatin  County,  clay  products  in. .36,  37 

coal  production  in . 24,  25 

oil  in  .  27 

Gas  in  Illinois  coals . 134-138 

Gas,  natural,  at  or  in: 

Carlinville  field . 85,  88-95 

in  Carlyle  field .  71 

Clark  County  .  26 

Greenville  .  13 

production  of . 13-14,  22,  23 

Geological  Survey,  U.  S.,  coopera¬ 
tion  of . 11,  14,  21,  45-46 

Geologic  work,  progress  of.. 9,  10,  12-15 
Glacial  deposits  in  Carlyle  field .  56,69-70 

Glassford  quadrangle,  work  in .  16 

Good  Hope,  geodetic  position  of .  .  .  16 

Gravel,  see  sand 

Green  sand,  oil  from .  27 

Greene  County,  clay  products  in.. 36,  37 

coal  production  in . 24,  25 

Greenville,  gas  near . 13,  27, 

Griffell  well  No.  1,  part  ial  rec¬ 
ord  of  . 

Grundy  County,  clay  products  in.. 36, 
coal  production  in . 23, 


33 


91 

37 

24 


H 

Haacke  well  No.  1,  partial  rec¬ 


ord  of  .  91 

Hall  wells,  logs  of . 87-88,  90 


PAGE 

Hamilton  County,  clay  products 

in  . 36,  37 

Hammann  well  No.  1,  partial  rec¬ 


ord  of  .  91 

Hancock  County,  clay  products  in 

. 36,  37 

coal  production  in . 24,  25 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

prospecting  in  .  32 

topographic  work  in .  16 

Havana,  geodetic  position  of .  16 

Henderson  County,  sand  and  gravel 

in  . 40,  41 

Hennepin  quadrangle,  work  in .  13 

Henry  County,  clay  products  in.  .36.  37 

coal  production  in . 24,  25 

sandstone  production  for .  38 

Henry  sand,  oil  from .  27 

Hergenroeder  well,  log  of . 49-50 

Herrin  coal,  see  coal  No.  6 

Herrin  quadrangle,  work  in .  13 

Herzog  well,  log  of .  52 

Heyworth,  gas  supply  as .  33 

Highland  dome  . 61-62 

Highland,  log  of  boring  at .  62 

Hoffman  dome  .  63 

Holthaus  well  No.  1,  log  of . 78-79 

Horsebacks  in  coal  No.  5 . 116-119 

Huey,  coal  No.  6  at .  60 

Hutsonville,  gas  supply  at .  33 

I 

Illinois  Valiev,  work  in . 10,  14 

Infusorial  earth,  production  of....  22 

Internal  Improvement  Commission, 

cooperation  of  . 11,  16 

Irishtown  anticline  .  61 

Iron,  pig,  production  of .  22 


Iroquois  County,  clay  products  in. 36,  37 

J 

Jackson  County,  clay  products  in. 36,  37 


coal  production  in . 24,  25 

drainage  work  in .  16 

prospecting  in  .  32 

Jacksonville,  gas  wells  at .  27 

Jasper  County,  clay  products  in.  .36,  37 

drainage  work  in .  16 

prospecting  in .  32 

topographic  work  in .  16 

Jefferson  County,  clay  products 

in  . 36,  37 

coal  production  in . 24,  25 

prospecting  in  .  28 

Jersey  County,  coal  production 

in  . 24,  25 

work  in  .  12 

Jo  Daviess  County,  lime  produc¬ 
tion  for .  3S 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 


162 


index — Continued 


K 

PAGE 

Kane  County,  clay  products  in... 36,  37 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

Kankakee  County,  clay  products 

in  . 36,  37 

coal  production  in . 24,  25 

lime  and  limestone  production  for  38 

Karkoff  well  No.  1,  log  of .  77 

Kaskaskia  Valley,  work  in .  14 

Kendall  County,  clay  products  in. 36,  37 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

Keokuk  limestone  in  Carlyle  field..  53 

in  Springfield  quadrangle .  103 

Keokuk  quadrangle,  work  on .  16 

Ivimmswick  quadrangle,  topograph¬ 
ic  work  in . 10,  46 

Kinderhook  strata  in  Carlyle  field .  53 

in  Springfield  quadrangle .  103 

King-Applegate  pool  .  27 

Kirkwood  sand,  oil  from .  27 

Klein  wells,  partial  records  of....  90 

Knox  County,  clay  products  in... 36,  37 

coal  production  in . 24,  25 

topographic  work  in .  16 

L 

La  Harpe,  geodetic  position  of....  16 


Lake  County,  clay  products  in... 36,  37 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

Lake  deposits  in  Illinois . 141-158 

La  Salle  County,  clay  products  in 

. 36,  37 

coal  production  in . 23,  24 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

topographic  work  in .  16 

LaSalle  quadrangle,  work  in.. 9,  13,  26 
Lawrence  County,  clay  products  in 

. 36,  37 

drainage  work  in .  16 

gas  in  . 33,  34 

oil  sands  in . 26,  27 

prospecting  in  .  32 

Lawrenceville,  discovery  of  oil  near  27 

drainage  work  at .  16 

gas  supply  at .  33 

Lead,  geologic  work  on .  14 

production  of  . 22,  42 

Leases  in  Carlyle  field .  72 

Lee  County,  gas  in .  34 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

Leverett,  Frank,  acknowledgment 

to  .  100 

Lime,  production  of . 22,  38 

Limestone,  production  of . 38,  39 

Lively  Grove,  structure  near .  64 

Livingston  County,  clay  products 

in  . . . 36,  37 

coal  production  in . 24,  25 

Loess,  clay  products  from .  130 


PAGE 

Logan  County,  clay  products  in.. 36,  37 

coal  production  in . 24,  25 

geology  of  portion  of . 99,  130 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

Lomax  quadrangle,  work  in .  16 

Lonsdale  limestone  in  Peoria  dis¬ 
trict . 105,  112,  113 

Lower  Magnesian  limestone  in  Car¬ 
lyle  field  .  48 

M 

Macomb  quadrangle,  work  in .  16 

Macon  County,  clay  products  in.. 36,  37 

coal  production  in . 24,  25 

Macoupin  County,  clay  products  in 

. 36,  37 

coal  production  in . 22,  23,  24 

gas  in  .  33 

geology  of  oil  field  in . 83-95 

prospecting  in  .  32 

Madison  County,  clay  products  in 

. 36,  37 

coal  production  in . 23,  24 

lime  production  for .  38 

oil  field  in .  45 

prospecting  in  .  32 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

Madison  quadrangle,  work  on .  16 

Madisonville,  Kentucky,  lake  feat¬ 
ures  at  .  147 

Manilo,  geodetic  position  of .  16 

Maquon,  geodetic  position  of .  16 

Marion  County,  clay  products  in.. 36,  37 

oil  field  in .  27 

coal  production  in . 23,  24 

prospecting  in  .  32 

Marseilles  quadrangle,  work  in....  16 

Marshall,  gas  supply  at .  33 

Marshall  County,  coal  production 

in  . 24,  25 

Martinsville,  gas  supply  at .  33 

Marissa,  flat  at . 64,  65 

Mascoutah,  arch  near . 64,  65 

coal  No.  6  near .  65 

log  of  well  at .  51 

Mason  County,  clay  products  in.. 36,  37 
Massac  County,  clay  products  in.. 36,  37 
McCabe  well  No.  1,  gas  from.... 69,  71 

log  of  .  76 

McClosky  sand,  oil  from . 13,  26,  27 

McClure  wells,  partial  records  of..  90 
McDonough  County,  clay  products 

in  . 36,  37 

coal  production  in . 24,  25 

topographic  work  in .  16 

McHenry  County,  sand  and  gravel 

in  . . 40,  41 

McLean  County,  clay  products  in. 36,  37 

coal  production  in . 24,  25 

gas  in  .  33 


index — Continued 


163 


PAGE 


McLeansboro  formation,  drillings 

through  .  73 

in  Carlinville  field .  85 

in  Carlyle  field . 55,  69 

in  Springfield  quadrangle .  103,  105-106 

Mechanicsburg,  coals  at . 113,  119 

Menard  County,  clay  products  in. 36,  37 

coal  production  in . 24,  25 

geology  of  portion  of . 99-130 

Mercer  County,  clay  products  in.. 36,  37 

coal  production  in . 24,  25 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

topographic  work  in . .  16 

Milan  quadrangle,  work  in .  16 

Mine  Rescue  Service,  cooperation 

of  . 9,  13 

Mineral  statistics,  work  on . 14,  21 

Mississippi  River,  delta  extension 

on .  152 

valley  filling  on .  150 

Mississippian  series  in  Carlinville 

field  . 87-88 


in  Carlyle  field . 53,  68 

in  Springfield  quadrangle .  103 

oil  from  .  27 

Monroe  County,  clay  products  in. 36,  37 

coal  No.  6  in .  57 

Galena-Trenton  exposure  in .  49 

lime  production  for .  38 

oil  field  in .  45 

prospecting  in  .  28 

topographic  work  in .  16 

work  in  .  22 

Montgomery  County,  clay  products 

in  . 36,  37 

coal  production  in . 23,  24 

Morgan  County,  clay  products  in. 36^  37 

coal  production  in . 24,  25 

gas  field  in . ’  27 


Moultrie  County,  clay  products  in 


. . 36,  37 

coal  production  in . 24  25 

Murphy  well  No.  5,  production 

from  .  70 

Murphysboro  coal,  see  coal  No.  2 
Murphysboro  quadrangle,  work  in.  13 


N 


Nashville  anticline  .  63 

New  Athens  quadrangle,  topograph¬ 
ic  work  in .  45 

ISew  Hebron,  gas  supply  at .  33 

New  Memphis,  structure  near .  63 

Newton,  drainage  work  at .  16 

Niagaran  group  in  Carlyle  field..!  49 
oil  in .  07 


O 

Oakdale,  structure  at .  63 

Oblong,  gas  supply  at .  33 


PAGE 

O ’Fallon,  anticline  at . 64-65 

Ogle  County,  clay  products  in .  36 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

Oil,  in  Carlyle  field . 71-72 

in  Carlinville  field . 85,  88-95 

at  Centralia  .  69 

prices  of  .  31 

production  of  . 13-14,  89 

Okawville,  structure  near .  63 

Okawville  quadrangle,  topographic 

work  in  .  45 

Ohio  Oil  Company,  production  by.  .  29 

Ohio  River,  valley  filling  on .  150 

Olney,  gas  supply  at .  33 

Ordovician  formations  in  Carlyle 

field  .  48 

Ottawa  quadrangle,  work  in .  16 


P 

Palestine,  gas  supply  at .  33 

Peabody,  altitude  of  coal  No.  5  at  110 
Pennsylvanian  series  in  Carlyle 

field  . 54-55,  68-69 

in  Springfield  quadrangle.  ..  .103-106 
Peoria  County,  clay  products  in.. 36,  37 

coal  production  in . 24,  25 

Lonsdale  limestone  in...  105,  112,  113 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

Pepple  sand,  oil  from .  27 

Perry  County,  clay  products  in.  .36,  37 

coal  production  in . 23,  24 

prospecting  in  .  28 

Petermeyer  well,  log  of . 51-52 

Petersburg,  coals  at .  113 

Piatt  County,  clay  products  in... 36,  37 

Pig  iron,  production  of . 25-26 

Pike  County,  clay  products  in... 36,  37 

gas  in  .  34 

Pinkstaff,  gas  supply  at .  33 

Pleistocene  deposits  in  Carlyle 

field  . 56,  69-70 

in  Springfield  quadrangle .  102 

Pocahontas,  oil  near .  27 

Pottsville  formation  in  Carlinville 

field  . 87,  89 

in  Carlyle  field . 54-55,  68-69 

in  Springfield  quadrangle .  103 

oil  in  .  89 

water  in  .  73 

Porterville,  gas  supply  at .  33 

Postel  Milling  Company  well,  log 

of  .  51 

Potsdam  sandstone  in  Carlyle  field  48 
Prairie  du  Chien  group  in  Carlyle 

field  .  4S 

Production  of  minerals  in  Illinois 

. 9-18,  21 

Prospecting  in  Carlinville  field... 83-84 

in  Carlyle  field . 66-67 

in  Richland  County .  27 


164 


index — Continued 


PAGE 

Pulaski  County,  clay  products  in. 36,  37 
Putnam  Countv,  coal  production  in 

. ". . 24,  25 

Pyrite,  production  of .  22 

Q 

Quaternary  deposits  in  Carlvle  field 

. . . . .  .56,  69-70 

in  Springfield  quadrangle .  102 


R 


Ralls  Ford,  altitude  of  coal  No.  5  at  110 
McLeansboro  formation,  expos¬ 
ures  at  . 105,  114 

Randolph  County,  clay  products  in 

. . . . . 36,  37 


coal  production  in . 24,  25 

prospecting  in  .  32 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

topographic  work  in .  16 

Renault  quadrangle,  work  in .  16 

Richland  Countv,  clav  products  in 

. .". _ ' . 36,  37 

prospecting  in  .  27 

Riverton,  altitude  of  coal  No.  5  at.  110 

structure  near  .  109 

Robinson,  gas  supply  at .  33 

Rock  Creek  limestone  in  Spring- 

field  quadrangle  . 112,  113 

Rock  Island  Countv,  clay  products 

in . Y. _ ' . 36,  37 

coal  production  in . 24,  25 

lime  production  for .  38 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

topographic  work  in .  16 


Rose  Hill  quadrangle,  work  in....  16 


S 

St.  Clair  County,  clay  products  in 


. 36,  37 

coal  production  in . 23,  24 

geology  of  . 43-80 

limestone  production  for .  38 

oil  field  in .  45 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

sandstone  production  for .  38 

topographic  work  in .  16 

Ste.  Genevieve  limestone  in  Carlin- 

ville  field  .  87 

in  Carlyle  field .  153 

St.  Louis,  coal  No.  6  near .  57 

flood  plain  near . 152,  153 

St.  Louis  limestone  in  Carlinville 

field  .  87 

in  Carlyle  field .  53 

in  Springfield  quadrangle .  103 


St.  Peter  sandstone  in  Carlyle  field  48 


PAGE 

Salem  limestone  in  Carlyle  field ...  53 

in  Springfield  quadrangle .  103 

Saline  Countv,  limestone  in .  86 

clay  products  in . 36,  37 

coal  production  in . 23,  24 

prospecting  in  .  32 

Sand,  production  of .  22 

Sand  and  gravel,  production  of... 39-41 

Sandoval,  coal  No.  6  at .  57 

Sandoval  field . 13,  26,  27,  46,  66 

Sandstone,  production  of . 38-39 

Sangamon  County,  clay  products  in  36 

coal  production  in . 22,  23,  24 

geology  of  portion  of . 99-130 

Schuyler  County,  clay  products  in..  36 

coal  production  in . 24,  25 

topographic  work  in .  16 

Scott  County,  clay  products  in.  .  .36,  37 

coal  production  in . 24,  25 

Selbvtown,  coals  at . 110,  113,  119 

Sellers  well  No.  1,  partial  record 

of  .  90 

Seville,  drainage  work  at .  16 

Shales  for  brick  making . 127,  130 

Shelby  County,  clay  products  in.  .  .  36 

coal  production  in . 24,  25 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

Shoal  Creek  limestone  in  Carlyle 

field  . 55,  69 

Silica,  production  of .  42 

Silurian  strata  in  Carlvle  field... 48,  49 

Silver,  production  of . 22,  42 

Smith  wells  in  Carlyle  field... 66,  75-76 

Sparta,  structure  at .  63 

Spirifer  in  McLeansboro  formation  106 
Spoon  River,  drainage  survey  of...  16 

Springfield  quadrangle,  geology  of 

. .  .  . . .  .  .99-130 

work  in  .  13 

Spergen  limestone  in  Carlyle  field..  53 
Stark  County,  clay  products  in.. .36,  37 

coal  production  in . 24,  25 

Stephenson  County,  clay  products 

in  . 36,  37 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

Stone,  production  of .  22 

Stov,  gas  supply  at .  33 

Sumner,  gas  supply  at .  33 


T 

Tallula  quadrangle,  work  in . 9,  13 

Tazewell  County,  clay  products  in.  36 

coal  production  in . 24,  25 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

Terraces  on  Mississippi  River .  151 

Tilden,  anticline  at . 64,  65 

Topographic  work  . 15-16 

Tracy  sand,  oil  from . 13,  26,  27 


index — Continued 


165 


PAGE 

Trenton  limestone  in  Carlyle  field. 48,  49 


oil  and  gas  in .  26 

Tribune  formation  in  Carlyle  field 

. . . 53,  54 

Tripoli,  production  of .  42 


U 

Udden,  J.  A.,  on  Carlin ville  lime¬ 


stone  .  86 

Union  County,  drainage  work  in.  .  .  16 

tripoli  in  .  42 

V 

Yalmeyer,  coal  No.  6  at .  57 

Galena-Trenton  exposure  at .  49 

Venedy  dome  .  63 

Vermilion  County,  clay  products  in  36 

coal  production  in . 23,  24 

limestone  production  for .  38 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

Vermont  quadrangle,  work  in .  16 


Vincennes,  Indiana,  gas  supply  at..  33 

W 


Wabash  County,  prospecting  in...  27 

clay  products  in .  36 

Walker  wells,  partial  records  of...  90 

Warren  County,  clay  products  in..  36 

coal  production  in . 24,  25 

Warsaw  shale  in  Carlyle  field .  53 

in  Springfield  quadrangle .  103 

Washington  County,  clay  products 

in  .  36 

coal  production  in . 24,  25 

geology  of  . 43-80 

oil  field  in .  45 

prospecting  in  .  28 


PAGE 

Water,  mineral,  production  of... 22,  42 

relation  to  oil  and  gas . 71,  92 

Waterloo  quadrangle,  topographic 

work  in  .  46 

Waverlv,  coal  No.  6  near .  119 

Wayne  County,  clay  products  in. 36,  37 

prospecting  in  .  27 

Weir’s  shaft,  record  of .  85 

West  Frankfort,  topography  near..  146 
West  Frankfort  quadrangle,  work 

in  . 9,  13 

White  County,  clay  products  in.  .  .  .  36 

coal  production  in . 24,  25 

White  Oak,  oil  prospect  and  anti¬ 
cline  near  .  64 

Whiteside  County,  lime  production 

for  . . .  38 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

Wilkins  well  No.  4,  log  of .  74 

Will  County,  clay  products  in.  .  .  .36,  37 

coal  production  in . 24,  25 

lime  production  for .  38 

limestone  production  for .  38 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

Williamson  County,  clav  products 

in  . 36,  37 

coal  production  in . 22,  23,  24 

drainage  work  in .  16 

gas  value  of  coal  from . 134,  136 

Winnebago  County,  lime  produc¬ 
tion  for .  38 

sand  and  gravel  in . 40,  41 

Woodford  County,  clay  products 

in  . . . ‘ . 36,  37 

coal  production  in . 24,  25 

Z 


Zinc,  geologic  work  on .  14 

production  of . 22,  42 


■ 


. 


